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

The Madhya Pradesh Uniform Civil Code 2026 Bill, which was introduced in the House on Monday (July 20, 2026), was passed through a voice vote on the second day of the Assembly’s Monsoon Session even as Congress MLAs continued sloganeering on issues like paper leak, donation theft at Ayodhya Ram Temple, prompting brief adjournments to proceedings.

The Bill seeks to criminalise polygamy and nikaha halala, while also making registration of live-in relationships mandatory.

During the discussion, Chief Minister Mohan Yadav slammed the Congress, alleging that it was opposing the Bill to appease the Muslim community. He also termed the Congress “anti-tribal” as the Scheduled Tribe (ST) communities have been exempted from the Bill to protect their cultural heritage.

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

“Due to the appeasement by Congressmen, mothers and sisters have suffered injustice. They had no means to seek justice. Prime Minister Modi gave rights to Muslim women by abolishing triple talaq... We are implementing the UCC to ensure that Amar, Akbar, Anthony, and Robin and Rahim live according to the same law,” he added.

Slogans by CM

Before starting his address, 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 turned into Islamnagar by foreign powers and Sharia law was imposed there, from that very land, our government has taken the historic decision to implement the UCC.”

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The Bill received the Cabinet’s nod on Sunday (July 19, 2026) at a special meeting in Jagdishpur (earlier known as Islamnagar), near Bhopal.

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

Mr. Masood alleged that the UCC had been brought “only to trouble” the Muslim community.

“An unconstitutional Bill has been passed. There was continuous debate and discussion on the matter, yet, my valid points were not sent to the select Assembly. They passed the Bill unilaterally and I condemn this. The amendment was discussed for two and a half hours, but my points were not accepted. Hence, this is unconstitutional,” he said.

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

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

Published - July 21, 2026 10:45 pm IST