Bengal May Soon Get Anti-Conversion Law, Curb Land Sale Across Communities

With the proposed Uniform Civil Code (UCC) set to become the BJP government's first major ideological legislation in West Bengal, Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Tuesday signalled that his next political-legal battles could centre on religious conversion and restrictions on land transactions across communities.

Addressing a review meeting of the Paschimanchal Unnayan Parshad in Bankura, Adhikari said his government would soon bring in a stringent law against forced religious conversion and introduce "legal restrictions" governing the sale and purchase of land.

"We will bring the UCC very soon; one country, one law. After that, our next steps will be to bring a stringent law to prevent forced conversion and new legal restrictions on land purchase and sale," he said.

Two issues that have long occupied the BJP's political narrative are religious conversion and what it calls 'land jihad'.

Adhikari did not spell out what the proposed land law would entail or whether it would restrict sale of property between members of different faiths.

But his remarks immediately invite comparison with other BJP-ruled states bordering Bangladesh, where the government has introduced restrictions on certain land transactions in protected communities and areas.

The land question also connects the state government's agenda with a larger BJP narrative on demography, illegal migration and control over land in border districts.

The BJP for the last several years have warned of demographic changes in border areas allegedly caused by infiltration and raised concerns over indigenous people losing land to "outsiders".

Now, with the TMC having been voted out after 15 years in power, that narrative has moved from campaign rhetoric towards the policy domain.

At Tuesday's meeting, attended by MPs, MLAs, cabinet ministers, district magistrates and around 75 BDOs from districts such as Bankura, Purulia, Jhargram, and Birbhum, Adhikari alleged that foreign-funded organisations were misleading poor people in Bankura and the Junglemahal region and engaging in illegal religious conversions and "fundamentalist" activities.

He also listed a series of measures undertaken by his government, saying it had handed over land along the border to the BSF, scrapped an "illegal" OBC list, stopped imam-muezzin allowances and prevented the carrying of swords during Muharram.

"Two tasks remain -- bringing a law on religious conversion and another on land purchase and sale. I am doing both," Adhikari said.

The remarks come barely six weeks after the state Cabinet approved the formation of a committee headed by retired Supreme Court judge Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai to examine the draft UCC Bill.

The four-member panel was given four weeks to scrutinise the draft and submit its recommendations, after which the legislation is expected to be placed before the Assembly.

Adhikari had announced the move in the Assembly on June 29.

The proposed UCC seeks a common civil framework for marriage, divorce, inheritance, succession and adoption, replacing religion-based personal laws in these areas while retaining constitutional safeguards for exempted categories.

If the bill concerned is passed during the extended Budget Session in August, West Bengal would become the fourth state to move towards implementing a UCC.

For the BJP, the timing is politically useful. The party had promised in its assembly election manifesto to implement the UCC within six months of forming the government.

Tuesday's meeting, however, was not confined to the BJP's ideological agenda.

The government simultaneously sought to recast Junglemahal and the state's western districts as a major development priority, allocating Rs 1,610 crore for the region during the current financial year, of which Rs 1,600 crore would go towards development schemes.

Adhikari accused the previous government of neglecting the Paschimanchal Unnayan Parshad after the BJP's strong performance in the region in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, alleging that political considerations had subsequently slowed development spending.

According to him, only Rs 20 crore had been allocated to the department in the previous financial year, with just Rs 6 crore actually spent.

The BJP government, he said, had earmarked Rs 1,610 crore for the region, including Rs 10 crore for salaries and the rest for development.

The administration has drawn up a three-month implementation calendar: projects and DPRs in September, tenders in October and execution after the Puja holidays, when the dry season begins.

Backward gram panchayats will receive priority, with at least Rs 50 lakh worth of work planned in each area.

Adhikari also put the bureaucracy on notice, praising district magistrates but expressing dissatisfaction with some BDOs and asking them to become more proactive.

Six flagship schemes -- including Annapurna Yojana, Ayushman Bharat, PM Awas Yojana, PM Surya Ghar and Jal Jeevan Mission -- were placed at the centre of the government's delivery agenda.

On recruitment, Adhikari sought to draw a sharp line between his government and the previous regimes, promising merit-based and transparent appointments through autonomous recruitment bodies.

He cited the appointment of Anil Verma as PSC chairman and Dushyant Narial as SSC chairman as evidence that the government had "sent a clear message" that corrupt officials would have no place.

The chief minister also linked the government's welfare and electoral concerns to the contentious issue of Bangladeshi Hindu refugees.

He said Hindu refugees from Bangladesh who apply under the Citizenship Amendment Act should not be deprived of ration, Annapurna or old-age benefits until their applications are disposed of.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)