After UCC, Bengal government planning laws against conversion, land sale: Suvendu Adhikari

West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari announced on Tuesday that his government's next legislative priorities would be an anti-conversion law and a law regulating land sales, following the state's adoption of the Uniform Civil Code (UCC). When questioned about the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026, which has sparked concerns among various minority groups, Adhikari pointed to the arrest of suspected Jaish-e-Mohammed operative Hamim Mondal from Bankura, accusing fundamentalists and radical groups of funneling foreign funds into the country through religious institutions.

Adhikari cited the trend of religious conversions in rural West Bengal, particularly in Bankura district, which takes advantage of economically disadvantaged individuals. He also mentioned the cancellation of an illegal OBC list, removal of stipends for imams and muezzins, preventing weapons from circulating during Muharram, and protecting cow protection.

The state government has formed a nine-member high-level committee, led by retired Supreme Court judge Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai, to draft the UCC legislation, which aims to create uniform personal laws for marriage, divorce, inheritance, and live-in relationships, while exempting tribal communities. Additionally, the West Bengal police have started a campaign to remove loudspeakers from places of worship, a move that has been challenged in the Calcutta High Court.