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Policy Reversals and Commissions in West Bengal

Tuesday, May 19, 2026
5 min read
Policy Reversals and Commissions in West Bengal

The new BJP government in West Bengal, under Suvendu Adhikari, is already starting to pull back some of the policies that the previous Trinamool Congress administration, the one Mamata Banerjee ran, put in place. It’s happening fast.

Right after taking office earlier this month, Adhikari drew a sharp line. He called it appeasement politics , that’s what he said about what happened under the old regime.

We’re talking about real changes. Stopping namaz on open roads. Ending government help based on religious categories. These were announced during the first cabinet meeting. A series of big policy shifts.

One of the biggest moves? Scrap the government assistance schemes tied to religious categorization.

Agnimitra Paul, a state minister, said those schemes running through the Information and Cultural Affairs and Minority Affairs departments, plus Madrasa Education, would only continue until the end of this month. They’re stopping from June. Separate notifications are coming out about it.

The government insists welfare shouldn’t be handed out based on who you are religiously. It’s a major reversal, moving away from how things were before.

Then there was the list of Other Backward Classes. The cabinet decided to scrap that list too, following an order from the Calcutta High Court. Agnimitra Paul mentioned a new panel is going to be formed to figure out quota eligibility later on. But when will that panel actually start working? No clear date yet.

It’s interesting how this connects to the past. The TMC government had started financial assistance for religious leaders right when they came to power.

It started back in 2012. For imams across the state. Registered imams got 2,500 rupees a month. The government claimed it was to help religious leaders from weaker economic backgrounds.

Then, shortly after that, the same kind of support went to muezzins. Those who call people to prayer at the mosques. Funds for both things went through the minority welfare department.

Then came 2020. They introduced something similar for Hindu priests, the purohits. It was meant to counter the idea that only Muslim religious leaders were getting state support. They got about 1,000 rupees a month initially. Then, before the 2026 elections, that amount bumped up to 2,000 rupees.

Now, the Suvendu government has decided to stop all these schemes starting in June.

Meanwhile, there’s this other angle. The Bengal government also announced a commission. They want to look into alleged irregularities in how those funds were distributed during the time Mamata Banerjee was in charge. They said it’s to examine institutional corruption. And this inquiry will be overseen by retired justice Biswajit Das.

And there’s the other big thing Adhikari brought up. After the cabinet meeting, he told reporters about a separate committee formed to look into atrocities against women across the state. That panel will be led by retired justice Samapti Chatterjee. IPS officer Damyanti Sen, who was involved in the Park Street rape case initially, is going to be the member secretary. The CM said the panel will look into all those cases. They expect a report within a month.

Written by Gree News Team — Senior Editorial Board

Gree News Team covers international news and global affairs at Gree News. Our collective of senior editors is dedicated to providing independent, accurate, and responsible journalism for a global audience.

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