Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari has indicated that his government is preparing for two major legislative initiatives after moving ahead with the proposed Uniform Civil Code (UCC), a law to regulate religious conversions and another to restrict certain land transactions.
Speaking to reporters in Bankura, Adhikari linked the proposed anti-conversion legislation to concerns over alleged religious conversions in economically vulnerable areas and the flow of foreign funds to religious organisations. Referring to the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026, he alleged that foreign funding was being used by fundamentalist and radical groups to establish illegal religious institutions.
Adhikari specifically highlighted the Jangalmahal region, comprising Purulia, Bankura and Jhargram, claiming that religious conversion was taking place in some areas by taking advantage of the economic hardships of poor people. “We have to stop this,” he said, asserting that legislation would be brought to address the issue.
The Chief Minister also said that his government had already taken several measures on issues it considers linked to law, governance and religious affairs. He referred to providing land along the border to the Border Security Force (BSF), cancelling what he described as an illegal OBC list, ending stipends for imams and muezzins and measures concerning cow protection.
On the proposed UCC, Adhikari said it would represent “one nation, one law” and stressed that the objective was to have a common legal framework. The West Bengal government has constituted a nine-member high-level committee headed by retired Supreme Court judge Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai to examine a draft UCC law.
The proposed legislation is expected to introduce common personal laws concerning marriage, divorce, inheritance and live-in relationships, while tribal communities would be exempted from its provisions.
Adhikari, however, did not provide details of the proposed legislation governing the buying and selling of land. The nature, scope and restrictions under the proposed law therefore remain unclear.
The developments come amid other policy measures in the state. The West Bengal Police recently launched a drive to remove loudspeakers from mosques and temples, a move that has been challenged before the Calcutta High Court.
