The newly formed government in West Bengal has announced that welfare schemes linked to religious identity, including monthly honorariums for imams, muezzins and temple priests, will be discontinued from June.
The policy marks a major shift from the earlier Trinamool Congress government, which had introduced financial assistance programmes for religious functionaries after coming to power in the state.
According to reports, the first such scheme was launched in 2012, under which registered imams in West Bengal received a monthly honorarium of Rs 2,500. Similar support was later extended to muezzins and Hindu temple priests.
The new administration led by Suvendu Adhikari has maintained that government welfare initiatives should not be distributed on the basis of religion.
The announcement comes shortly after the BJP formed the government in West Bengal following the recent Assembly elections.
The decision is expected to trigger political debate in the state, as the honorarium schemes had remained a key issue in Bengal politics for several years.
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