West Bengal CM Adhikari Holds Janata Darbar, Listens to People's Grievances

PTI, June 13, 2026, Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari held his Janata Darbar at the BJP office on Saturday, listening to people's grievances on several issues and instructing officials to redress them promptly.

The first Janata Darbar was held on May 18.

Adhikari had announced the weekly programme after taking charge as Chief Minister, saying citizens would be able to meet him directly every week.

On Saturday, families of people suffering from serious ailments, health workers and job seekers turned up in large numbers to register their complaints and apprise the Chief Minister of their hardships.

One of the attendees, Karuna, said she had come to the Janata Darbar seeking financial assistance for her daughter's treatment.

Another woman, Tanima Chatterjee, a programme officer of the government's Mission Vatsalya initiative, attended the CM's weekly grievance redressal programme seeking job security.

"We promote family-based, non-institutional care for children in difficult circumstances. There are 876 staffers in the state, yet we lack job security. We receive only a consolidated payment for our services.

"The previous government never did anything for us, but we hope the BJP government will make our jobs permanent," she said.

Two women also approached the Chief Minister, seeking justice for the deaths of their children.

One was the mother of eight-year-old Ayush Kumar Nath, who died days after allegedly falling ill at a Bansdroni school.

The other was the mother of a Burdwan Medical College student who died under mysterious circumstances in 2024, months before the RG Kar incident.

Several others said they had come to lodge complaints against the police and administrative authorities, alleging that the previous government had attempted to suppress murder cases and other crimes.

The BJP said, "People's concerns took centre stage today as the Chief Minister engaged directly with citizens. Listening to their challenges, grievances, expectations and aspirations, he assured prompt attention and action."

"True leadership is measured not by authority, but by its ability to connect with people, understand their concerns, and respond to their needs," the party said.

The weekly outreach initiative is increasingly emerging as one of the BJP government's early public-facing governance exercises after coming to power in Bengal.

Similar public hearing models have often featured in BJP-ruled states and are projected by the party as instruments of accessibility and quicker grievance redressal.