West Bengal’s government-backed MLA service centres have triggered an access dispute after opposition legislators said they were not receiving the same support being extended to ruling BJP lawmakers. The government is now considering whether opposition legislators who want to open the centres should also be given the facility, according to a report by Anandabazar.
The offices, named ‘Netaji Subhas Chandra Seva Kendra’, are intended to operate in legislators’ constituencies. The state government has announced financial assistance of Rs 30,000 for running each centre, with the amount to be provided separately. The initiative also includes framed portraits of Subhas Chandra Bose in Bengali attire for display at the centres.
Most BJP legislators have reportedly collected the portraits from the Assembly building. However, several Trinamool Congress and Democratic Trinamool Congress legislators who appeared to apply for the portraits were not given them. They were told that a government directive covering them had not yet been issued, the report said.
The dispute places the initiative within a broader question of how publicly supported constituency offices are administered. MLA offices are a direct point of contact between residents and elected representatives, where people typically approach legislators over local grievances and requests for assistance. In this case, the reported difference in access relates not only to the portrait but also to the proposed financial support for operating the service centres.
Ritabrata Bandyopadhyay, the Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly, has already used a banner carrying the words ‘Netaji Subhas Chandra Seva Kendra’ at his MLA office in the Uluberia East constituency. He said opposition legislators should receive the same opportunity and that he would approach the Speaker after the Speaker’s return from a foreign trip.
“We are currently seeing only ruling-party MLAs being given Subhas Chandra’s portrait. The Speaker has just returned from a foreign visit. After this, I will request the Speaker to ensure that opposition legislators are also given the same opportunity,” Bandyopadhyay said, according to Anandabazar.
ISF legislator Naushad Siddiqui also said he would willingly install the portrait and open a service centre if it were provided to him. “Who could object to Netaji Subhas Chandra’s name and portrait? If it is given to us, we will gladly put up the portrait and open a service centre,” he said.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Shankar Ghosh said the matter would be examined if opposition legislators were interested. “If the opposition is interested, I will look into the matter,” he said.
The initiative has also featured in the campaign for the Rejinagar Assembly bypoll. Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari said BJP’s victory would make Rejinagar a model Assembly constituency and promised that a Netaji Subhas Chandra Seva Kendra would be opened there to provide services to residents. The government’s next decision on whether opposition legislators will receive the same support will determine how uniformly the scheme is implemented across constituencies.