The Assembly on Friday passed a bill to amend the West Bengal Minorities’ Commission Act, allowing the state government to appoint two vice-chairpersons, instead of the existing one, on the panel.

The House passed the bill after a 1.5-hour-long debate.

A source said the creation of an additional post of vice-chairperson was significant ahead of the Assembly elections next year, as the government seeks to focus on the development of minority communities, a segment in which the ruling Trinamool Congress has held dominance.

“An additional vice-chairman will help ensure more effective functioning of the West Bengal Minorities’ Commission,” the minister of state for finance, Chandrima Bhattacharya, said on the floor of the Assembly.

A Trinamool insider said the party planned to appoint a “non-Muslim” from
north Bengal as the new vice-chairperson, aiming to strengthen its presence in a region where the BJP holds significant influence.

“As far as we know, a senior politician who recently switched to the TMC from the BJP may be appointed as the new vice-chairman of the commission. At a time when the BJP has been accusing the TMC of appeasing Muslims to consolidate Hindu votes, selecting a non-Muslim representative from north Bengal could be a masterstroke,” said the TMC source.

In the 2021 Assembly elections, the BJP had won 30 of 54 Assembly seats in
north Bengal.

A senior official in the minority development department said the commission had been constituted in 1996. The purpose of the commission was to recommend additional social, economic, educational and cultural measures for the religious and linguistic minorities of Bengal. It was established to preserve the state’s secular traditions and promote national integration as well.

Mohammad Ali, the TMC MLA from Lalgola in Murshidabad, who spoke in favour of the amendment, said the Opposition should remember that, apart from religious minorities, linguistic minorities were also under the purview of the commission.

“So, if a new vice-chairperson is appointed in addition to the existing one, he or she can address the issues faced by linguistic minorities,” said Ali, dismissing the Opposition MLAs’ claim that the post was created to benefit an individual without any proper vision for minority development in Bengal.

Nawsad Siddique of the ISF and BJP’s Shankar Ghosh strongly criticised the way minorities in the state were allegedly deprived and questioned the creation of an additional post on the commission.

Trinamool MLAs sought to counter the Opposition members’ arguments before Speaker Biman Banerjee announced that the amendment bill
was passed.

Nawsad Siddique, the only non-BJP, non-TMC MLA, claimed that the creation of the new post would have no impact as the government lacked genuine intent to improve the condition of minority communities.

“Even if multiple posts are created, there will be no outcome in minority development as the government lacks the will. This government has no such intention. The creation of the post is merely to accommodate someone as a white elephant,” said the ISF MLA.