UCC bills of Assam, Gujarat, MP await President's approval

The Uniform Civil Code bills passed this year by the Assam, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh assemblies are still awaiting the President's approval, officials said. Gujarat cleared its bill on March 24, Assam on May 27 and Madhya Pradesh on July 21. The Assam bill excludes scheduled tribes, who form 12.45% of the state's population. Union home minister Amit Shah said on September 13 that all NDA-ruled states would have a UCC before the 2029 Lok Sabha elections. Allies JD(U), TDP and LJP are uneasy about the plan.

Written by AI from Hindustan Times — India · not yet reviewed by an editor · Published 16 Sept 2026, 7:47 am IST

Source

Hindustan Times — India · read the original report ↗

#ucc#uniform civil code#bjp#amit shah#state assemblies

Desk check · compared with the source

What the desk checked (5)

UCC bills passed by Assam, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh assemblies await Presidential approval — Attributed in source to unnamed Gujarat, Assam and Madhya Pradesh government officials.
Amit Shah on September 13 promised all NDA-ruled states will have UCC before the 2029 Lok Sabha elections — Stated in source as a promise by the Union home minister; date appears in source, no direct quote given.
Uttarakhand implemented a state-specific UCC on January 27, 2025, with Presidential assent coming 32 days after the bill's passage on February 7, 2024 — Dates and figures appear in the source; internally consistent.
Assam's UCC bill excludes scheduled tribes, who form 12.45% of the state's population — Figure appears in source without an attributed data source.
JD(U), TDP and LJP are uneasy about UCC; Nagaland and Meghalaya allies oppose it — Supported by quotes attributed to named party leaders and chief ministers in the source.

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Analysts’ view opinion

AI Political Analyst

The BJP's chosen route on UCC is now clear: instead of one national law through Parliament, it is building the code state by state through friendly assemblies. That is politically cheaper — it avoids a floor fight with allies — but the pending presidential assent means the messaging is running well ahead of the statute book. And as Assam's exemption for scheduled tribes (12.45% of its population) shows, the politics of carve-outs will shape what UCC actually looks like in each state.

With the Ram temple and Article 370 done, the state-by-state route lets the BJP tick off its third long-standing manifesto promise at relatively low political cost.
The home minister's September 13 commitment to a UCC in every NDA-ruled state before 2029 effectively locks the issue into the next general election's agenda.
The discomfort of JD(U), TDP and LJP (Ram Vilas) reads less as open revolt and more as careful distance-keeping, calibrated to their own voter coalitions.
Opposition from BJP's own allies in Nagaland and Meghalaya marks the cultural and tribal-rights limits of the project in the Northeast — and Assam's exclusion of tribes is best read as an answer to that pressure.
Rajasthan's bill still not taken up, and expert panels still at work in Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra, suggest an uneven pace even within BJP-ruled states.

What to watch — Watch the sequence and timing of presidential assent, the outcome of JD(U)'s planned conversation with the home minister, and whether allied-ruled states such as Bihar and Andhra Pradesh shift position.

The story does not establish why assent is pending — whether it reflects any political consideration or simply routine scrutiny — nor does it set out the bills' full contents or the allies' final stand.

Deep dive

Research brief · 8 facts · 10 dates · exam-ready

The brief

Context

The Uniform Civil Code (UCC) — a single set of personal laws on marriage, divorce, inheritance and succession — has been a long-standing BJP manifesto promise alongside the Ram Temple at Ayodhya and the abrogation of Article 370. With no central law, BJP-ruled states are legislating their own versions: Uttarakhand became the first state to implement a state-specific UCC on January 27, 2025. Because personal law falls in the Concurrent List domain, state UCC bills are reserved by Governors for the President's assent. The UCC bills passed this year by Assam, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh are still awaiting that assent.

Key facts

Uttarakhand implemented a state-specific UCC on January 27, 2025 — the first state to do so.
The President's approval for Uttarakhand's UCC came 32 days after the bill was passed in the assembly on February 7, 2024; implementation followed ten months later.
Gujarat assembly passed its UCC bill on March 24, 2026 and it was referred to the President by the Governor the following week.
Assam passed its UCC bill on May 27, with the draft prepared in about 10 days after the BJP returned to power in summer assembly polls.
The Assam UCC bill excludes scheduled tribes, who comprise 12.45% of the state's population.
Madhya Pradesh passed its UCC Bill on July 21 and sent it for the President's approval the next day.
On September 13, Union home minister Amit Shah promised all NDA-ruled states will have a UCC before the 2029 Lok Sabha elections.
Rajasthan tabled a UCC Bill in its Assembly on August 21, but it has not yet been taken up for discussion.

Timeline

September 2023Nagaland CM Neiphiu Rio sought exemption for the state, saying UCC could threaten unique Naga culture and customs.
February 7, 2024Uttarakhand assembly passes the UCC bill.
March 2024 (32 days after passage)President approves Uttarakhand's draft UCC law.
January 2025Meghalaya CM Conrad Sangma calls UCC neither 'appropriate nor practical' for a diverse India.
January 27, 2025Uttarakhand becomes the first state to implement a state-specific UCC.
March 24, 2026Gujarat assembly passes its UCC bill; Governor reserves it for the President the following week.
May 27Assam assembly passes its UCC bill, excluding scheduled tribes.
July 21Madhya Pradesh assembly passes its UCC Bill; sent for President's approval the next day.
August 21Rajasthan tables its UCC Bill in the Assembly.
September 13Amit Shah promises UCC in all NDA-ruled states before the 2029 Lok Sabha elections.

Who has a stake

President of India — Must give assent to state UCC bills reserved by Governors before they can become law; three bills currently pending.
Assam, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh governments — Have passed UCC bills and are awaiting the President's nod to notify and implement them.
Scheduled tribes of Assam — 12.45% of the state's population, explicitly excluded from the Assam UCC bill, protecting their customs.
BJP — UCC is the third of its core manifesto promises after the Ram Temple and Article 370 abrogation; state-by-state route is its chosen path.
NDA allies JD(U), TDP and LJP (Ram Vilas) — Uneasy about UCC; JD(U) to raise it with Amit Shah, TDP to consult stakeholders, LJP stresses 'uniformity and diversity'.
Nagaland and Meghalaya (BJP alliance partners) — Have opposed UCC implementation, citing threats to tribal culture and customs and India's diversity.
Uttarakhand — First mover whose law and detailed implementation rules serve as the template other states are copying.

Why it matters

The UCC is being built state by state rather than through Parliament, making the President's assent the decisive gate for a nationally significant reform of personal law. The pending bills also expose the federal and cultural fault lines — tribal exemptions in Assam, outright opposition in Nagaland and Meghalaya, and discomfort among NDA allies — that any uniform code must negotiate. With Amit Shah setting a 2029 deadline, the pace of approvals will shape both law and politics.

UPSC angle

Prelims pointers

Uttarakhand was the first state to implement a state-specific UCC, on January 27, 2025; its bill was passed on February 7, 2024.
Assam's UCC bill excludes scheduled tribes, who form 12.45% of the state's population.
Dates of passage: Gujarat March 24, 2026; Assam May 27; Madhya Pradesh July 21; Rajasthan bill tabled August 21.
State UCC bills are reserved by the Governor for the President's assent before becoming law.
UCC formed the BJP's manifesto troika along with the Ram Temple at Ayodhya and abrogation of Article 370.
Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra have set up expert panels; Odisha is constituting a drafting committee; West Bengal has announced a UCC law.

Mains framing

The UCC debate has shifted from Parliament to the states, with BJP-ruled governments legislating separate codes modelled on Uttarakhand's law but modified for local tribal communities and customs — a route the party has adopted to deliver the third of its manifesto troika after the Ram Temple and Article 370. This approach raises immediate institutional questions: since state bills touching personal law must be reserved by Governors for the President's assent, executive discretion at the Union level now determines when and whether a state's code takes effect, as seen in the pending Assam, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh bills against Uttarakhand's 32-day approval. Politically, the model runs into pluralism: Assam exempts scheduled tribes (12.45% of its population), Nagaland has sought exemption citing threats to Naga culture, Meghalaya's chief minister calls a UCC neither appropriate nor practical for a diverse country while conceding some civil laws could be made uniform, and allies JD(U), TDP and LJP remain uneasy. The way forward, on the source's own terms, lies in reconciling uniformity with constitutionally protected diversity — through tribal exemptions, consultation with stakeholders, and clarity on whether a state-by-state patchwork or a parliamentary law better serves the goal.

Key terms

Uniform Civil Code (UCC): A common set of civil/personal laws applied to all citizens, replacing community-specific personal laws; being enacted state-wise in India.
President's assent: Approval required for state bills reserved by the Governor; without it a passed UCC bill cannot become operative law.
Scheduled tribes exemption: Carve-out from UCC coverage for tribal communities to protect their customary laws — used in Assam's bill.
NDA (National Democratic Alliance): BJP-led coalition; Amit Shah said all NDA-ruled states will have a UCC before the 2029 Lok Sabha elections.
Article 370 abrogation: One of the BJP's three core manifesto promises, along with the Ram Temple and UCC; the first two are described as fulfilled.
General Administration Department (GAD): Madhya Pradesh government department whose official confirmed the UCC Bill was sent for the President's approval.

Practice questions

Discuss the constitutional and federal implications of enacting a Uniform Civil Code through individual state legislations reserved for the President's assent, rather than through a central law.
Assam's UCC bill exempts scheduled tribes, while Nagaland and Meghalaya oppose the code outright. Examine how a uniform civil code can be reconciled with the protection of tribal customary law.
Critically evaluate the argument that uniformity in personal law strengthens equality, in light of the concerns raised by NDA allies such as JD(U), TDP and LJP.

Grounded only in the source report — figures and dates are the source's, not inferred.

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