Mumbai: Union home Amit Shah on Sunday expressed confidence that Uniform Civil Code (UCC) will be introduced in all 21 NDA-governed states before 2029.“Triple talaq has been abolished, giving Muslim women equal rights. We have introduced UCC in several states and I am confident that in the 21 BJP-NDA-governed states, we will introduce UCC before 2029,” he told reporters.Asked whether the 1951 baseline would be used for implementing National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Manipur, Shah said the Union govt is holding discussions with its allies and other political parties over it. “Whatever decision is taken, we will inform you,” he said.He said govt had ended five decades of Maoism and signed more than 14 peace agreements in the the northeast region. “More than 9,000 people have surrendered and today we have taken the northeast on the path of development.”Shah refused to disclose the methods being deployed to identify illegal Bangladeshi migrants and their detection in cities such as Mumbai. “You are asking the home minister to make the tools public and tell you how it will be done. Then how will we catch them? They will also come to know,” he quipped. He reiterated govt’s resolve to identify and deport infiltrators from the country.On national security, Shah said the dilution of Articles 370 and 35A had been achieved without a single drop of blood being shed or a bullet being fired, and asserted that Kashmir was now fully integrated with India.He said surgical strikes, air strikes and Operation Sindoor have established a policy of zero tolerance towards terrorism.Asked whether a white paper would be released on the Rs 25,000-crore Maharashtra State Cooperative Bank scam case, involving the late Ajit Pawar, deputy CM Sunetra Pawar and their nephew NCP (SP) MLA Rohit Pawar, amid conflicting findings by state and central agencies, Shah said agencies were doing their work. A state police inquiry cleared all those who were accused of wrongdoing by ED. A court subsequently discharged all accused in the money-laundering case.He said govt had strengthened the country’s criminal justice system through Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and claimed that several states had recorded a 30% increase in the conviction rate in a single year.Shah outlined NDA allies’ monthlong nationwide campaign—Seva Sankalp Abhiyan—beginning Sept 17 to mark PM Narendra Modi’s 25 years in top administrative positions. He also listed out people-oriented schemes implemented by the Modi-led govt across the country. He was accompanied by CM Devendra Fadnavis and deputy CM Eknath Shinde.
