Kolkata, Dec 26: BJP leader and Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, on Thursday alleged that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s recent letter to West Bengal Civil Service (WBCS) officers was an attempt to influence bureaucrats involved in the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process.
In a post on X, Adhikari cited the chief minister’s letter addressed to WBCS officers earlier this week and claimed it carried a “veiled message” reminding officers of the benefits they had received under her government.
He alleged that the communication was meant to subtly signal future expectations of allegiance, particularly in the context of upcoming electoral processes.
“The Chief Minister suddenly lauding the contributions of WBCS officers and reminding them of their ‘allegiance to the government’ exposes a patronising tone, using administrative toil as leverage for loyalty.
This is nothing but an attempt to intimidate WBCS officers,” Adhikari said in his post. He further alleged that the Trinamool Congress government had consistently shown bias in favour of the West Bengal Police Service (WBPS) cadre over WBCS officers.
According to Adhikari, the state government’s policies had created a “two-tier system”, placing WBCS officers at a disadvantage while offering more favourable treatment to WBPS officers.
Adhikari listed four major grievances, including what he described as arbitrary and politically motivated transfers, unequal promotion opportunities and career progression, disparity in dearness allowance (DA) rates, and inadequate housing and accommodation facilities for WBCS officers.
The chief minister’s letter, which Adhikari referred to, was issued on Tuesday as a New Year message to civil servants.
In it, Banerjee highlighted several measures taken by the state government for the welfare of WBCS officers, including separate pay rules, an increase in higher-level posts from 163 to 350, additional promotion opportunities, two extra increments at specific career stages, annual health check-ups, housing plots at the Aitika project in New Town, and the introduction of online submission of suspicious activity reports and asset statements.
In the letter, Banerjee also acknowledged the challenges faced by WBCS (Executive) officers during the ongoing SIR exercise.
“I know that the WBCS (Exe) officers have to work under many difficulties in the work of Special Intensive Revision (SIR) that is currently going on, but know that the state government is with you in this difficult time and will be with you in the future,” she wrote.
Adhikari, however, maintained that despite the assurances, WBCS officers had been deprived compared to their WBPS counterparts during the Trinamool Congress regime.
He alleged that the government’s approach had systematically favoured the police service, placing civil service officers on a “lower pedestal” in terms of benefits and career prospects.
