Lucknow: The political debate over the proposed Uniform Civil Code (UCC) intensified in Uttar Pradesh after Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav criticised the BJP’s position on the issue, prompting responses from state Deputy Chief Ministers Brajesh Pathak and Keshav Prasad Maurya.
Yadav had taken a sarcastic swipe at the BJP’s UCC proposal in a post on X, saying the acronym stood for “Underground Communal Conspiracy.” He also argued that the government should first fulfil its earlier promises before taking up the UCC issue. His remarks were reported on September 16 amid renewed political discussion over the proposed legislation.
Responding to Yadav, Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak criticised the Samajwadi Party leadership and alleged that it lacked a clear policy agenda. He accused the party of making statements aimed at influencing public opinion and referred to the political and law-and-order situation during previous SP governments.
Pathak said the UCC debate should be viewed in the context of the BJP’s stated policy position rather than through political rhetoric.
Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya, meanwhile, described the UCC as a long-standing ideological issue for the BJP. Speaking in Azamgarh, he said the issue had been part of the party’s ideological position since the days of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh.
Maurya said that UCC would be implemented in states governed by the BJP or the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), while states where the alliance is not currently in power could take up the issue if a BJP or NDA government is formed there.
The remarks came after Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s recent statement on UCC, which has brought the issue back into the political discourse ahead of the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections. Reports have said Shah spoke of implementing the code in NDA-ruled states before the 2029 Lok Sabha elections.
The UCC debate concerns the possibility of having a common set of personal laws governing areas such as marriage, divorce, inheritance and related family matters. Uttarakhand became the first state to enact and subsequently implement a UCC, while several other BJP-ruled states have taken steps towards considering similar legislation.
Yadav, however, has questioned the timing and rationale of the BJP’s push for the code. In his recent remarks, he argued that earlier commitments should be addressed before introducing new political issues. His comments included references to previous BJP election promises, including employment and financial commitments.
The exchange reflects the widening political debate over the UCC in Uttar Pradesh, where questions surrounding personal laws, constitutional principles, social diversity and the proposed legislative framework are expected to remain part of public and political discussion in the run-up to the state elections.
