Governor Outlines Governance Roadmap in West Bengal Assembly Budget Session

MP, June 18, 2026, Kolkata: The Budget Session of the West Bengal Assembly commenced on Thursday with Governor R.N. Ravi’s address, in which he praised the BJP government's initiatives so far and outlined its governance roadmap, promising to dismantle the alleged “threat culture” and corruption syndicates of the previous regime while focusing on border security, industrial revival, welfare delivery and administrative transparency.

Interestingly, the BJP’s campaign slogan, “Bhoy Out, Bharsha In” (fear out, trust in), found a place in the Governor’s speech.

Emphasising the mandate for change, Ravi said the people of West Bengal had “rejected the atmosphere of fear and frustration” that had prevailed in the state for a long time and voted for a new government.

The 36-minute address projected the Suvendu Adhikari government as one committed to restoring law and order, rooting out corruption and strengthening border security.

Claiming a decisive shift from the previous regime, Ravi said: “The new government had launched a crackdown on anti-social elements allegedly sheltered earlier and was determined to eliminate the threat culture and corruption syndicates.”

The Governor reiterated the government’s “zero tolerance” stance on crimes against women and highlighted industrialisation as a key pillar of its development agenda.

He said unused and underutilised land would be reclaimed for industrial projects, with a high-level task force led by the chief secretary facilitating land acquisition and investments.

“My government wants to take West Bengal to the forefront of industrial development and the top-most destination for industry,” he said.

A key theme of the address was illegal infiltration, with Ravi expressing concern over alleged demographic changes in border districts due to unchecked cross-border movement over the years.

“The influx of illegal infiltrators along the long, porous international border over the last decades has severely impacted the demographic balance in our state. The fulfilment of needs of the rightful citizens has been compromised because of presence of large number of illegal infiltrators here with active indulgence of some vested interest groups within the state itself,” he said.

The Governor also lauded the Suvendu Adhikari government for freeing encroached land that had stalled expansion of metro projects in Kolkata.

“The expansion work of Kolkata Metro Railway was kept on hold for a long time. The new state government has started it,” the Governor said.

The Budget session will continue till June 25. Finance minister Swapan Dasgupta will present the full state Budget for fiscal 2026-27 on June 22.