West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari asked for six more months to implement a Uniform Civil Code while addressing a Vishwa Hindu Parishad event in Kolkata on October 4. The Indian Express reported his renewed timetable; Press Trust of India separately covered the speech at the birth-centenary event for Ashok Singhal. The proposed code concerns civil matters such as marriage, divorce and inheritance.
Adhikari said further legislation would follow on religious conversion and what he called “love jihad” and “land jihad”. Those are his political labels, not findings establishing conspiracies. He also said the government would work within the Constitution and protect places of worship. The reporting does not provide final legislative text, a new vote or a commencement notification for these proposed measures.
These were already BJP election promises. On June 29, The Indian Express reported that Adhikari had announced a committee led by retired Supreme Court judge Ranjana Prakash Desai and envisaged bringing a UCC bill in August. The October 4 development is the renewed timetable, rather than the creation of that committee or an initial proposal.
The June report also recorded concerns from All India Muslim Personal Law Board member Uzma Alam that a UCC could infringe minority rights. That is earlier opposition, not a response to Sunday’s speech. No immediate response to the renewed timetable was available in the reviewed reporting.