Assembly passes Bill to add second vice-chairperson to Minorities’ Commission

Kolkata: The West Bengal Minorities’ Commission (Amendment) Bill 2025 was passed in the state Assembly, on Friday, for the purpose of enhancing the number of vice-chairpersons in the Commission from one to two for its more effective functioning.

The Commission presently has one chairperson, one vice-chairperson, one member secretary, and nine members, all having tenure of three years.

“The ambit of work for the Commission has increased by leaps and bounds so the need for two vice-chairpersons has been felt,” said Chandrima Bhattacharjee, state Finance minister while explaining the purpose of the amendment.

In 2022-23, the Commission held six meetings and made 15 visits. In 2023-24, it held eight meetings and made 14 visits. In 2024-25, it held four meetings and

made four visits. One member from each of the six major religious minorities—Muslim, Christian, Sikh, Jain, Buddhist, and Parsi—serves on the Commission. Janab Ahmad Hasan is the chairman of the Commission while Michael Sen Culvert is vice-chairman. “The Commission has been constituted as per guidelines of the Indian Constitution and it is bereft of any sort of political biases,“ Bhattacharjee said.

BJP MLA Sankar Ghosh proposed a public figure to be named as the second chairperson of the Commission and not anyone from the Muslim community.