BJP govt cuts minority budget in West Bengal by 62%: Where the funds were slashed

In a departure from previous Budgets under the Trinamool Congress (TMC), the BJP government has slashed the allocation of the Minority Affairs and Madrasah Education (MAME) Department by 62% for the 2026-27 financial year. This comes a month after the Suvendu Adhikari-led BJP government scrapped the Mamata Banerjee government’s move to include several Muslim communities in the OBC list.

With an allocation of Rs 2,175.43 crore in the Budget presented on Monday, the MAME Department’s outlay has declined from Rs 5,713.61 crore in the 2026-27 Interim Budget, presented in February ahead of the Assembly polls.

Under the Mamata Banerjee government, MAME was one of the government’s key departments, with annual allocations regularly exceeding Rs 5,000 crore. In 2023-24 and 2024-25, the Mamata government allocated Rs 5,166.99 crore and Rs 5,530.66 crore to the department, which rose further to Rs 5,602.29 crore in 2025-26 and to Rs 5,713.61 crore in the vote-on-account earlier this year.

The Gender and Child Budget document, published along with the entire Budget, shows how expenditure on the minority affairs department has been curtailed.

For instance, while the TMC government allocated Rs 10 crore to a scheme providing housing for “destitute minority women”, the BJP has decided not to make any allocations. Similarly, the BJP has slashed the outlay by 50% for the Aikyashree Scholarship that provides financial aid to economically disadvantaged students from minority communities, reducing the allocation from Rs 741 crore in 2025-26 and Rs 600 crore in 2024-25 to Rs 250 crore in 2026-27.

The Sabooj Sathi scheme, providing free bicycles to high school students, including those attending madrasas, saw its outlay drop from Rs 100 crore in the previous Budget to Rs 15.5 crore. The BJP government also slashed the allocation for schemes for the development and welfare of minorities to Rs 21 crore, down significantly from Rs 85 crore in 2024-25 and Rs 103 crore in 2025-26.

During his reply to the Governor’s speech in the Assembly on Tuesday, Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari said, “The previous government fooled minorities. Instead of sending children to madrasa, you people should push them to become doctors or engineers.”

The reduction in the MAME Department’s outlay drew sharp criticism from the Opposition. TMC MLA and Leader of Opposition Ritabrata Banerjee said, “We will fight this decision tooth and nail in the Assembly.”

Opposition targets government

Echoing Ritabrata’s remarks, TMC MLA Kunal Ghosh, one of Mamata Banerjee’s loyalists, said, “We are not criticising without studying the Budget documents in detail. But, obviously, such a decision is not acceptable.”

Indian Secular Front (ISF) MLA Naushad Siddiqui also criticised the government’s decision. “The BJP always tries to suppress the minority community by hook or by crook. They say ‘sabka sath, sabka vikas’. But they excluded minorities from that list. Minorities already are from downtrodden sections and Muslims are not the only minority. Jains, Christians and Buddhists are all minorities and they will also be deprived. So this decision should be reviewed.”

Aam Janata Unnayan Party leader and MLA Humayun Kabir said, “The BJP should not forget that not only Hindus, but Muslims also rejected the TMC and that is why the BJP was able to form the government. Such a decision to decrease the allocation for the minority community will not only stall the development of society, but also damage the image of the government.”

“The previous government used to allocate more than Rs 5,000 crore for the MAME Department, but they actually spent around Rs 2,500 crore. So, we allocated that much,” Finance Minister Swapan Dasgupta told the Assembly.

However, a senior BJP leader maintained that the government will prioritise “development and not appeasement politics”. “The TMC government illegally siphoned money through the minority department and our government stopped religion-based allowances. Naturally, the allocations decreased. We will not deprive the minority community like Mamata Banerjee.”