Didi races against poll clock on DA sop, pastor and muezzin spending

KOLKATA: Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday announced that her government will pay Rs 10,000 crore in development aid arrears to 900,000 state employees and pensioners from March and increase the monthly honorarium of Hindu priests and Muslim muezzins to Rs 2,000 from Rs 500, clamping down on both ahead of a model code of conduct coming into effect. At 2:40 pm, Mamata increased the emoluments of clerics on her official X account. The DA default assurance was given at 3:05 pm, 55 minutes before CEC Gyanesh Kumar’s press conference to announce the polling schedule for four states and one union territory. SC tells TMC to pay 25% of DA’s dues by March 31Bengal government employees and pensioners “will start receiving ROPA (revision of wages and allowances) 2009 DA arrears from March 2026 in the manner detailed in the notification issued by our finance department,” CM Mamata Banerjee said on Sunday, less than an hour after the CEC’s press conference announcing the poll schedule for four states, including Bengal. In February, the Supreme Court directed the Trinamool government to pay 25% of DA arrears amounting to Rs 10,000 crore by March 31. The remaining outstanding amount will be paid as per the schedule fixed by the committee headed by Justice (retd) Indu Malhotra.Trinamool spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said the timing had nothing to do with the elections. “The First Minister has planned this plan in advance and will make it official when she sees fit,” he said.Bengal Opposition Leader Suvendu Adhikari dismissed the DA’s statement, calling it “a joke” and “classic TMC election drama”.Replying to a question, CEC Kumar said there is no problem for the Union or the state government to implement new policy decisions before the polls are announced. But once the model law comes into effect, “any decision that affects the outcome of an election or serves as an inducement will not be allowed,” he said.Bhaskar Ghosh of the state government employees union Sangrami Joutha Mancha termed the statement as “a result of sustained pressure from employees on a non-partisan platform”. The hike in honorarium has come as a relief to around 2.5 lakh priests, out of which nearly 1.7 lakh priests are registered under the Paschimbanga Rajya Sanatan Brahman Trust. This will benefit them a lot,” said Rajib Banerjee, president of the trust.