NEW DELHI: Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Law and Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Arjun Ram Meghwal has said the government is committed to implementing the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) across the country and asserted that its “constitutional basis” makes it difficult to justify restricting the legislation to a few states.
Asked whether the Uniform Civil Code would remain confined to BJP-ruled states or eventually be implemented across the country, Meghwal said, “The Uniform Civil Code was discussed in the Constituent Assembly, and the makers of the Constitution incorporated a provision for it under Article 44. The Supreme Court has also made observations on the subject on several occasions. It is encouraging that some states have come forward to implement the UCC. Goa has had a common civil code for a long time, even when the BJP was not in power there,” he said in an exclusive interview with The New Indian Express.
He added “We believe that the UCC should be implemented across the country, and our government is committed to this objective. It has a constitutional basis, and there is no reason why its implementation should remain restricted to a few states. The issue is also increasingly finding a place in the election manifestos of political parties.”
Uttarakhand became the first state to enact a UCC law in February 2024 and remains the only state to have fully implemented the legislation. Gujarat subsequently passed it, while Assam became the first northeastern state to pass such legislation in May 2026.
Madhya Pradesh has also moved towards adopting the code, approving it unanimously at a special Cabinet meeting in Bhopal in August.
The UCC remains one of the BJP’s longstanding ideological objectives, alongside the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya and the abrogation of Article 370, both of which have been achieved.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah had earlier described a common civil law for every citizen as a commitment of the BJP “since its inception”. He has also expressed confidence that the UCC would be implemented in all 21 BJP- and NDA-ruled states before 2029.
