In a first, West Bengal has decided to offer honorarium to police personnel for engaging in election duties in connection with the Lok Sabha polls.
Sources told News18 that this is the first time such an honorarium is being given, adding that it is being done as per election norms.
Till now, it was only civil authorities — Returning Officer or Assistant Returning officer — who would get the honorarium but the Bengal government has decided to add to it.
More than Rs 31 crore has been approved for the honorarium to West Bengal Police. About 100 officers of the Kolkata Police have been given about Rs 1 crore.
Sources told News18 that in Bengal, officer in-charge of police stations to DG level will get one-month basic salary as honorarium, while those below constable and others will get Rs 7,500.
A senior officer told News18 that such an honorarium is required for the force as elections entail back-breaking work for both civil authorities and police personnel.
However, many in the political circles were critical of the move.
Speaking to News18, Locket Chatterjee, BJP leader, said: “The TMC government will definitely give reward to police because police helped make their election result better. Without police, they would have not got these number of seats so they are rewarding the personnel.”
BJP’s Agnimitra Paul also said the move was to reward policemen who “serve as cadre of TMC”.
“Police in Bengal file false cases. They behave like middle-men to solve internal disputes between TMC leaders. The police and crime nexus in Bengal is a proven fact. Police is the election machinery to help TMC win any poll. Police help to hide dreaded criminals like Sheikh Shahjahan. They also threaten voters who support the opposition. So, them getting the honorarium is justified.”
Sources in the bureaucracy, meanwhile, said the honorarium is the norm across states.
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