West Bengal Chief Minister Promises to Withdraw Cases Against Kurmi Community

West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari announces that cases registered against members of the Kurmi community during protests under the previous Trinamool Congress government will be withdrawn.

Adhikari also states the Kurmi community will be kept outside the ambit of the Uniform Civil Code (UCC). He made these statements on Sunday, September 20, 2026, at a Karam festival programme in Purulia. The Kurmis are a prominent community in the State’s Jangalmahal region, currently categorized as Other Backward Class. They have been demanding Scheduled Tribe (ST) status and inclusion of the Kurmali language in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution.

Adhikari also promises to push for constitutional recognition of the Kurmali and Rajbanshi languages. The West Bengal government states it will submit a "Further Common Justification Report" to the Centre to support the inclusion of the Kurmi community in the ST list. The State government has already set up a committee led by former Supreme Court judge Ranjana Gopal Desai to work out modalities for implementing the proposed UCC in the State, and has promised to keep ST out of the UCC's ambit. Adhikari accuses the previous government of creating divisions within the Kurmi community and states his government will fulfill promises made in its election manifesto.