The first BJP government in West Bengal, led by Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, held its first cabinet meeting on Monday and announced land transfer to the Border Security Force (BSF) for setting up fences along the Bangladesh border, implementing census and welfare schemes of the Center in the state.
“The demographic character of Bengal has changed and the security of the country is at risk. The Cabinet today approved the transfer of lands to the Border Security Forces with immediate effect. The Chief Secretary and Secretary, Land Administration and Reforms have been asked to complete the process within 45 days. Although 90% of the required lands were ready, the previous government had blocked this to protect a segment of the population. We will deal with the infiltration problem in a few days,” Adhikari said.
The Prime Minister said that the Center had notified the Trinamool Congress (TMC) government on June 25, 2025 about the need to start the census process. He said: “The files have been lying here since then. Today the Council of Ministers approved the immediate launch of the census process. The previous government did not move to deprive women of the reserve that the Center wanted to start.”
Five ministers attended the meeting: Dilip Ghosh, Agnimitra Paul, Ashok Kirtania, Nisith Pramanik and Kshodiram Tudu.
None of the existing welfare schemes will be stopped, the state Adhikari secretariat in Nabanna said. However, all central schemes like Ayushman Bharat, PM Vishwakarma, PM Ujjwala Yojana 3.0, Beti Bachao Beti Padhao and crop insurance will be implemented immediately.
“Around 8,65,000 applications have been submitted by Bangladeshi artisans for inclusion in the PM Viswakarma Scheme. But district magistrates have been instructed not to send these applications to the Central MSME Department solely due to political reasons. The same has happened with the applications for the Ujjwala Scheme,” he said.
He added: “But no dead person or foreigner will receive these benefits.”
Read also:Free electricity and women’s safety: Vijay’s first actions after taking oath as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu
Adhikari announced that the training courses conducted by the Center will be mandatory for bureaucrats and police officers from the central services and state governments. “So far IAS, IPS, WBCS and WBPS officers have not gone to central training programmes. The former chief minister did not allow it. Today we have empowered the chief secretary to start it,” he said.
Adhikari announced relaxation in the age of applicants for government jobs by five years, a promise made by Union Home Minister Amit Shah before the elections.
“Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah have made these promises,” Adhikari said. “Also, the previous government did not implement the Bharatiya Nyaya Samhita Act and continued to follow the Indian Penal Code. The Indian Penal Code has been implemented as of today,” he said.
He announced that the next Cabinet meeting on May 18 will take up important decisions on dearness allowance for state employees under the Seventh Pay Commission, institutional corruption, atrocities against women, and the RG Kar Hospital rape and murder case for the year 2024.
Read also:West Bengal polls 2026: Mother of victim RG Kar, BJP candidate is leading from Panihati
He said that the state witnessed “bloodless, free and fair elections after a long time” and thanked voters for the 93% participation rate. “This is being discussed all over the world,” he added.
“We also thank the EC, the officers who attended as observers, the police, the media, the central forces and all other contesting parties,” he said.
“We have also paid tribute to the 321 BJP workers who sacrificed their lives during years of struggle. This government is duty bound towards their families. These families will get justice and we will take care of them too,” he said.
Adhikari had earlier met BJP state president Samik Bhattacharya to discuss the issues of the first cabinet meeting.
“This will not be a BJP government. This is a West Bengal government. The party will interact with the government on the commitments made in the election manifesto,” Bhattacharya said.
