CONGRESS QUESTIONS CENTRE’S UCC PUSH AFTER MAHARASHTRA PANEL MEMBER RESIGNS

September 23, 2026

NEW DELHI: The Congress on Wednesday criticised the Centre’s push for a Uniform Civil Code (UCC), after former Bombay High Court judge Justice R.C. Chavan resigned from the Maharashtra government’s committee working on a framework for implementing the code in the state.

Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh alleged that the government was using the UCC for political polarisation rather than pursuing legal reform through broad consultation. He also questioned the emergence of separate state-level UCC frameworks, arguing that differences in provisions, procedures and exemptions could undermine the claim of uniformity.

Justice Chavan, who resigned from the Maharashtra panel on September 19, had raised concerns about the committee’s public consultation process. In his letter to chairperson Justice Ranjana Desai, he objected to complex social questions being presented to citizens largely through “Yes/No” responses, saying this did not facilitate the broader consensus he had understood the committee was seeking.

The Maharashtra government had constituted the seven-member committee in July to prepare a framework covering issues including marriage, divorce and property across religious communities. The controversy comes days after Union Home Minister Amit Shah said UCC would be introduced in all BJP-NDA-ruled states before the 2029 Lok Sabha election.