Four bills to be placed in Bengal Assembly today, uncertainty over UCC

Kolkata, June 29 (IANS) Four crucial bills will be tabled in the West Bengal Assembly on Monday, including the Backward Classes Commission Amendment and the OBC Reservation Amendment, with the other two related to preventing corruption and rowdy activities in the state.

However, uncertainty prevails over whether the proposed Bill related to the Uniform Civil Code in West Bengal will be tabled or Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari will make an announcement for the formation of a committee headed by a retired judge of the Supreme Court to finalise the blueprint of the proposed UCC Bill.

Although neither of the two possibilities has been officially confirmed by Assembly authorities or the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), sources aware of the development said the second possibility is more likely to come true. And, in all probability, the former apex court judge Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai (retired) might be approached to head the committee to be set up for this purpose.

After the Chief Minister arrived in the Assembly on Thursday afternoon (June 25), discussions started that the Uniform Civil Code Bill could be presented on the floor of the House on Monday. Even in his speech in the first half of the Assembly session that day, the Chief Minister had advocated for the Uniform Civil Code Bill. Later that night, he repeated the same words in a party programme.

After the Chief Minister’s remarks, the BJP’s legislative party in the House started preparations to present this bill. However, no clear explanation was received from the ruling camp’s parliamentary party team about whether it will be presented on Monday.

The BJP’s legislative party, after the Chief Minister’s announcement, has set aside an hour for discussion on the Uniform Civil Code Bill. For now, the ruling party has decided that the Chief Minister will be the only speaker in favour of this bill, and later, the names of more BJP speakers may be added.

According to sources from the Assembly Secretariat, although the BJP legislative party has made such preparations, the business schedule prepared for Monday includes the other four bills. It does not mention the Uniform Civil Code Bill. As a result, there is confusion about what exactly the government wants to do with this Bill.

–IANS

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