Kurmis to be kept out of UCC, says West Bengal CM; promises to withdraw old cases

West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Sunday (September 20, 2026) said the Kurmi community would be kept outside the ambit of the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) and announced that cases registered against members of the community during protests under the previous Trinamool Congress government would be withdrawn.

The Kurmis are a prominent community in the State’s Jangalmahal region. They are currently categorised as Other Backward Class and have been demanding the status of Scheduled Tribe (ST).

Members of the Kurmi community had organised road and railway blockades across parts of West Bengal during the previous Trinamool Congress government’s tenure, demanding ST status and inclusion of the Kurmali language in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution. Mr. Adhikari also promised to push for constitutional recognition of the Kurmali and Rajbanshi languages.