Kolkata, Jul 17 (PTI) The BJP government in West Bengal has decided to revive the assembly debate on the Home (Police) Department’s budget after 15 years, ending a practice under the TMC regime when its demands were routinely guillotined, a senior leader said on Friday.
Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, who also holds the Home portfolio, will personally reply to the discussion on the department’s budget.
The nearly three-hour debate, scheduled for July 22, is expected to see opposition members raise issues ranging from law and order to policing and governance before Adhikari winds up the discussion.
The decision marks a significant departure from the practice followed during the previous TMC regime, when the Home Department’s budgetary demands were guillotined without discussion as part of the passage of the budget.
The only exception was in 2011, when the newly elected Mamata Banerjee government allowed an extensive debate on the Home budget to highlight what it described as the deteriorating law-and-order situation inherited from the Left Front government.
Since then, however, successive budget sessions under the TMC government saw the Home Department’s demands guillotined despite several politically contentious incidents, including the Khagragarh blast, the Bogtui killings, the RG Kar hospital case and violence during panchayat elections in which 11 people were killed in a single day.
The BJP, which came to power in the state for the first time after the 2026 Assembly elections, has sought to distinguish itself from its predecessor on governance and policing.
“Our government has nothing to hide from the people. The previous TMC government guillotined the Home budget every year to avoid discussion on its failures in law and order and corruption. There is a people’s government in Bengal today, and the opposition will also get an opportunity to participate in the debate on the Home budget,” BJP chief whip Amlan Bhaduri said.
The development comes weeks after Adhikari repeatedly asserted that restoration of the rule of law and depoliticisation of the police would be among the BJP government’s foremost priorities.
Since assuming office, the chief minister has publicly defended the state police while simultaneously warning against political interference and announcing a series of measures aimed at strengthening policing and industrial security.
Finance Minister Swapan Dasgupta had presented the BJP government’s first budget on June 22 for the remaining eight months of the financial year. While the Governor’s address and the budget were cleared during the first phase of the session, the Business Advisory Committee has finalised discussions on the demands for grants of 13 departments between July 17 and 25.
The House met on Friday to adopt obituary references and table reports before commencing detailed departmental discussions from next week.
The schedule provides for debates on the Health, Panchayats and Transport departments on July 20; Higher Education, School Education and Industries on July 21; Home, Hill Affairs and Power on July 22; North Bengal Development, Tourism, Municipal Affairs and Urban Development on July 23; and Sports and Youth Services along with Public Health Engineering on July 24.
Assembly sources said the government is also likely to introduce a bill towards the end of the session to transfer the financial powers currently exercised by elected gram panchayat pradhans to administrative officials, a proposal that could trigger political debate.
Political observers expect thin opposition attendance on July 21, when the budgetary demands for the education and industries departments are scheduled to be discussed. The day coincides with the annual Martyrs’ Day programmes of both the Kalighat-led Trinamool Congress and the rival TMC faction headed by Ritabrata Banerjee, while the Congress is also expected to participate in the commemorative events.
The Home Department debate on July 22 is expected to witness a sharp exchange between the treasury benches and the opposition over issues relating to law and order, policing and governance, with Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari scheduled to reply at the conclusion of the discussion. PTI PNT NN
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