Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], June 30 (ANI): The West Bengal Assembly on Monday passed some significant legislations, including the 'Public Safety and Control of Anti-Social Activities Bill, 2026'.
'The West Bengal Public Safety and Control of Anti-Social Activities Bill, 2026', was passed with 176 members voting in its favour and 41 against it.
Tabled alongside 'The West Bengal Maintenance of Public Order (Amendment) Bill, 2026', the bill grants the state administration sweeping powers to curb organised crime, "syndicate raj," and "hooliganism."
'The West Bengal Maintenance of Public Order (Amendment) Bill, 2026' was also passed by the Assembly.
The government said it felt the need for a new legal framework as the existing provisions were "ineffective and inadequate" to combat nefarious activities. The Bill specifically targets individuals or groups involved in illegal mining, unauthorised sand extraction, and activities that create fear or panic among the public.
A major provision of the Bill is preventive detention, allowing District Magistrates and Police Commissioners to issue detention orders if a person's activities pose a threat to public safety. An offence under the bill will be cognizable and non-bailable.
In addition to the public safety measures, the Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari declared that the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) will be implemented in the state, mirroring the frameworks adopted in Gujarat, Uttarakhand, and Assam.
Addressing the House, the Chief Minister said the state government has initiated the process for enacting the Uniform Civil Code and is committed to taking the legislation forward after completing the necessary procedural steps.
"The draft of the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) will be placed before the state cabinet on July 2. After the cabinet's approval, the bill will be tabled in the Assembly in August," Adhikari said in the House.
The Chief Minister also announced the constitution of a committee headed by former Supreme Court judge, Justice (Retd) Ranjana Prakash Desai, which will draft the UCC Bill for Bengal.
According to the Chief Minister, the committee comprises experts from different fields, including legal luminaries and educationists, who will examine various aspects of the proposed law before submitting their recommendations.
He further informed the Assembly that the panel has been given one month to submit its report to the government.
"The committee has been given one month to submit its report. Once the committee's report is received, the bill will be tabled in the Assembly in August," he said.
Reiterating the government's commitment to implementing the proposed legislation, the Chief Minister asserted that the state administration would move ahead with the Uniform Civil Code after completing the legislative process.
"The government is committed to introducing the UCC bill, and the Uniform Civil Code will be implemented in Bengal under any circumstances," Adhikari said.
The Assembly also passed two important bills related to OBC reservation. The two Bills are the 'West Bengal Backward Classes (Other than Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes) (Reservation of Vacancies in Services and Posts) (Amendment) Bill, 2026' and the 'West Bengal Commission for Backward Classes (Amendment) Bill, 2026'.
The bills were introduced by Backward Classes Development Minister Gourishankar Ghosh. He said the government is reorganising the state's OBC categories in line with directions issued by the Calcutta High Court.
"The main part of the bill is the 113 communities that are excluded from the OBC list, which was added by the last government in an inappropriate way," Ghosh told ANI.
"Now 66 communities are included in the OBC reservation list without any category," he added.
As he said, the previous category system was dissolved; now only one category works, that is, OBC. Even the percentage of the reservation quota has been reduced from 17% to 7%.
Also, a 1993 law applicable to the West Bengal Commission for Backward Classes has been amended.
Addressing the assembly, Ghosh said, "As directed by the high court, all communities included in the OBC list without any survey by the former government have been removed. It was totally appeasement politics. After surveys have been completed, 66 communities have been added. The Bills will also ensure that fake OBC certificates are not issued. The West Bengal Commission for Backward Classes will conduct surveys on the actual status of OBCs."
After discussion on both the Bills, during the voting process, rebel TMC MLAs, including LoP Ritabrata Banerjee, walked out and boycotted the vote, but 5 to 6 MLAs from his group participated in the voting process.
A total of 186 MLAs voted in favour of the Bills, while 17 voted against them and six members abstained from voting.
The state government, in consultation with the West Bengal Commission for Backward Classes, shall determine the percentage of the posts to be reserved for candidates belonging to the Other Backward Classes.
Provided that the state government may, from time to time, by notification in the Official Gazette, increase the percentage in the manner that the overall reservation for the Scheduled Castes, the Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes shall not exceed fifty per cent.
The Backward Classes Commission will conduct inquiries, and if it feels any community should be included, it can make recommendations for the state government's consideration too. (ANI)
