Veteran CPI(M) leader and senior advocate Bikas Ranjan Bhattacharya, whose term as a Rajya Sabha member recently ended, has chosen not to accept the pension provided by the Union Government for former MPs. In a communication addressed to the Rajya Sabha Secretary General and shared on his official social media account, Bhattacharya expressed his decision to forgo the pension, stating his preference for it to be duly noted.
Bhattacharya, who served as a Rajya Sabha member from West Bengal starting April 3, 2020, with Congress support, concluded his term on April 2 this year. Notably, the CPI(M)-led Left Front, unable to nominate candidates due to a lack of representation in the West Bengal Assembly, did not contest in the recent elections for the five Rajya Sabha seats in the state.
In the absence of Left Front candidates, four members from the ruling Trinamool Congress and one from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) were elected unopposed to fill the vacant seats in the Upper House of Parliament from West Bengal. Bhattacharya, the CPI(M) nominee for the Jadavpur Assembly constituency in South 24 Parganas district, is set to contest in the upcoming two-phase Assembly elections, with Jadavpur scheduled for polling on April 29.
Throughout his career, Bhattacharya has demonstrated a consistent stance on declining entitled emoluments, even during his tenure as the Mayor of Kolkata Municipal Corporation from July 2005 to June 2010. His recent decision to forego the pension as a former Rajya Sabha member has garnered praise on social media, with many commending his commitment to principles of sacrifice amidst prevailing materialistic tendencies.
