BJP leader moves HC against plan for 100 civic volunteers at new Jagannath temple
Kolkata: Lawyer and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Koustav Bagchi has filed a petition in the Calcutta high court challenging the West Bengal government's decision to appoint 100 civic volunteers at the new Jagannath temple in Digha in West Bengal's east Midnapore district.
The petition has called the proposed appointments illegal and politically motivated. 'Filed on Tuesday, the PIL will be heard by the division bench of justices Soumen Sen and Smita Das,' Bagchi said.
The development comes against the backdrop of a political row between the BJP and West Bengal's Trinamool Congress (TMC) over the temple in Digha. On Sunday, the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) at the Jagannath temple in Odisha's Puri suspended Ramakrishna Dasmohapatra, a senior Daitapati (servitor), prompting the TMC to allege that the servitor was only suspended because he participated in a ceremony to open the Jagannath temple in Bengal's Digha.
Opposition parties in Bengal have been critical of the state government's practice of recruiting civic volunteers, who are required to have passed the Class 8 school examination to be eligible for the job, are often refer to them as 'cadres' of the state's ruling TMC.
'Civic volunteers are not authorised or eligible to independently maintain traffic and control crowd, particularly in sensitive areas like schools, hospitals and places of religious congregation. The designated role of civic volunteers, as recognised by law and precedent, is to provide assistance to police personnel when specifically called upon and not to function in lieu of trained police officers...' the petition said. HT has reviewed a copy of the plea.
The petition said the recruitment notice violated Article 14 and 19 of the Constitution of India because it only permitted people who were permanent residents of Digha and Digha Mohana Coastal Police Station Areas to apply to join as civic volunteers at the new temple.
'This form of conduct in politics and government is widely known as the spoils system, in which a political party after winning an election, gives government jobs to its supporters, friends and relatives as a reward or incentive to keep the party working...,' the petition added.
Currently, more than 70,000 civic volunteers are employed, drawing a monthly salary of ₹9,000.
Concerns have grown in recent years, with several civic volunteers being arrested on criminal charges. The most recent case involves Sanjay Roy, a civic volunteer attached to the city police, who was convicted in the 2024 rape and murder of a junior doctor at Kolkata's RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.
In March 2023, the Calcutta high court asked the government to issue a clear set of guidelines on duties to be performed by civic volunteers. In its order passed on May 23, 2023, the police directorate underlined that civic volunteers would only 'assist' police units deployed to manage traffic, tackle illegal parking, manage crowds during festivals and ensure public safety and could not 'be entrusted with any law enforcement duties'.
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