West Bengal's First Month Under BJP: Fencing, Anti-Corruption, and Welfare Measures

The first BJP government in West Bengal has seen an eventful first month in office – from the pushing the promise of a “double-engine government” to a series of major administrative, security, and welfare decisions. A month after Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari took oath along 40 other ministers, though as many as 35 ministers have still not been allotted portfolios, the BJP government has already announced several key decisions, including transferring land to the the Border Security Force (BSF) to complete pending fencing along the Indo-Bangladesh border, expanding the state’s flagship subsidised food programme, and launching a large-scale anti-corruption drive. The newly elected BJP government began its term from the Brigade Parade Ground in Kolkata on May 9, the birth anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore. Six ministers, including Adhikari, took oath in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah . Twenty-seven days after assuming office, Adhikari expanded his Cabinet with 35 new ministers . After an election campaign that heavily focused on alleged corruption during the 15-year tenure of the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress (TMC), anti-graft efforts have been an early area of focus for the Adhikari government. In the BJP government’s first seven days, as many as 70 TMC leaders were arrested in connection to alleged corruption. By the end of the government’s first month, the number of TMC leaders arrested crossed 300, including notable names like former state ministers Sujit Bose, Swarup Biswas and Dilip Mandal. Already under the scanner in the alleged teacher recruitment scam, TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee has now been summoned by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), and is also caught up in the alleged Assembly signature forgery case over which the Bengal Criminal Investigation Department (CID). “Wherever we are putting our hands, there is a rotten stench. This time we will have to build a jail at the Brigade Parade Ground,” CM Adhikari said on Sunday. BJP state president Samik Bhattacharya has already issued a directive to party workers and leaders that its leadership has a “zero-tolerance policy” on corruption. To investigate allegations of institutional corruption, an inquiry commission to be headed by a retired judge has been formed. The investigation into the alleged Gorkhaland Territorial Administration teacher recruitment scam has been hanged over the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Amid concerns of illegitimate beneficiaries of the flagship Lakshmir Bhandar scheme, a Special Investigation Team (SIT) has been formed to trace men receiving financial assistance intended for women. One of the government’s first major decisions has been the transfer of land to the BSF to facilitate border infrastructure development. According to government figures, more than 142 acres of land have already been handed over. The BJP, while campaigning for the Assembly polls, had raised the issue of a large stretch of the India-Bangladesh border in West Bengal remaining unfenced. The government has stated that it intends to expedite the fencing process and has set an ambitious target for completing critical stretches. Officials describe border management and the prevention of illegal infiltration as key priorities of the new administration. The Adhikari government has also initiated several welfare measures, chief among them the Annapurna Yojana, which like the TMC government’s Lakshmir Bhandar scheme, grants eligible women cash assistance every month. The government has also begun offering free public bus rides to women. The BJP government has also moved quickly to implement several Central schemes in Bengal that had not been introduced under the TMC regime. On Monday, Adhikari signed an MoU with the Centre to introduce Ayushman Bharat , the flagship national health cover scheme, in Bengal. From July 1, the VB-G RAM G programme for rural employment – which replaced the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) – will be launched in Bengal. Several Central schemes, including the Fasal Bima Yojana, Ujjwala Yojana, and Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Antyodaya Yojana, are also set to be launched in the state. “You can’t assess a government in one month. However, we have started many things already. According to our promises, we started the Annapurna Yojana, under which already 50 lakh women are getting money. The previous government did not introduce Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and Ayushman Bharat. We have started. We are doing our best,” Adhikari said after completing his fifth administrative meeting at Kolaghat. While Adhikari has held separate meetings with Gautam Adani’s son Karan Adani and S N Subrahmanyan, chairman of the Larsen & Toubro group, BJP state president Samik Bhattacharya has said wants Tata to return to Singur. Meanwhile, preparations have begun to build a seaport at Dadanpatrabar and Union Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said that Rs 1 lakh crore would be invested in the state’s railway projects. The government also announced it would raise the maximum age limit for government jobs by up to five years, and the Seventh Pay Commission for government employees. However, much like other BJP-ruled states, the new government in Bengal is facing criticisms for introducing “bulldozer culture” in the state, particularly for evicting street hawkers without proper rehabilitation. In many places, the government faces resistance from Opposition parties and the hawkers. CPI(M) state secretary Md Salim alleged, “What happened in the first month after the Mamata government came to power in 2011 has happened in the case of this government as well.” Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said, “This government has started by carrying out demolitions. In some places, houses are being demolished, in others, hawkers are being evicted. The BJP government wants to show that it is doing something.” In the Assembly, the “rebel” TMC chief whip of the legislative party, Akhruzzaman, said, “Given the way terror is continuing, and the way the police are making arrests in false cases, this new government has not been able to offer anything in a month except disappointment.” BJP state chief Samik Bhattacharya, however, said, “The people of the state are pleased to see the work of the new government. People are saying they have attained true freedom. Because, after many decades, the rule of law has been established in the state. The government is only a month old. There is still a long way to go. Over the next five years, the government will fulfil the promises made in the election manifesto.”