The Madhya Pradesh Assembly passed the UCC Bill amid Congress sloganeering

The Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly on Tuesday (July 21, 2026) passed a bill to introduce a Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in the state amid an uproar by Congress MLAs who demanded it be sent to a select committee.

The Madhya Pradesh Uniform Civil Code, 2026, which was introduced in the House on Monday (July 20, 2026), passed by voice vote on the second day of the monsoon session of the Assembly, even as Congress MLAs continued to raise slogans on issues like paper leakage, theft of donations at the Ayodhya Ram Temple, prompting a short trial.

The draft law seeks to criminalize polygamy and nikah halala, as well as mandatory registration of live-in relationships.

During the discussion, Chief Minister Mohan Yadav slammed the Congress, saying it was against the bill to appease the Muslim community. He also called the Congress “anti-tribal” because Scheduled Tribe (ST) communities were exempted from the bill to protect their cultural heritage.

“If the Congressmen have even a little respect for Babasaheb (Ambedkar), they should absolve themselves of their sins by supporting the UCC. It was the Congress that created a one-for-all system based on the distribution of agricultural land in the assembly in 1959. Now the Congress is against this system of equality,” Yadav said.

“To appease Congressmen, mothers and sisters suffered injustice. They had no means to seek justice. PM Modi gave rights to Muslim women by abolishing triple talaq… We are introducing UCC to ensure that Amar, Akbar, Anthony and Robin and Rahim live under the same law,” he added.

Slogans from CM

Before starting his speech, the chief minister also raised slogans like “Jo Hindu hit ki baat karega, vahi pradesh me raaj karega (Whoever speaks for Hindu interests will rule the state)” and “Jai Shri Ram”.

After the bill was passed, Mr. Yadav also said, “The land of Jagdishpur, which was converted into Islamnagar by foreign powers and Sharia law was introduced there, it is from this land that our government took the historic decision to introduce UCC.”

Also Read: UCC to be implemented in Bengal through proper procedure, says Suvendu

The bill received Cabinet approval on Sunday (July 19, 2026) at a special meeting in Jagdishpur (formerly known as Islamnagar), near Bhopal.

Meanwhile, Congress MLAs like Arif Masood and Atif Aqeel opposed the legislation, saying it violated fundamental rights related to culture and education, and asked Speaker Narendra Singh Tomar to refer it to a select committee for amendments.

Mr Masood claimed that the UCC was brought in “only to harass” the Muslim community.

“An unconstitutional draft law was adopted. There was continuous debate and discussion on the matter, but my valid points were not sent to the elected council. They adopted the draft law unilaterally, and I condemn it. The amendment was discussed for two and a half hours, but my points were not adopted. So it is unconstitutional,” he said.

Meanwhile, Congress MLAs also staged a protest in the assembly premises over various issues, including a demonstration with the three symbolic dead bodies of the BJP, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP).

The bill was prepared by a six-member expert committee chaired by former Supreme Court judge Ranjana Desai.

Published – 21 July 2026 22:45 IST