Calling the Union Budget “anti-people” and “destructive” for India’s economy, TMC leader and former West Bengal Finance Minister on Saturday said that Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman failed to give a road map for controlling price rise in the country.
Speaking to mediapersons in Kolkata after Sitharaman presented the Budget, Mitra, the chief financial adviser to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, said: “What did this Budget do? Social services have been reduced by 16 per cent. The housing (funds) reduced by 4.38 per cent. Also, in social welfare and Scheduled Castes and Tribes development, more than 3 per cent have been cut off… And the most important is reduction of Budget allotment on food subsidy by 5 per cent. There is nothing for youths, women and farmers in this Budget.”
“Where is the road map in the budget for controlling price rise in the country? Why has the GST been not reduced in the insurance sector while 100% foreign investment is allowed in the insurance sector,” Mitra asked.
Speaking in Delhi, TMC MP and party national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee accused the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre of “once again depriving West Bengal” in the Budget.
Accusing the 12 BJP MPs from West Bengal of “doing little to take up the state’s cause”, the Diamond Harbour MP, said, “They did nothing to help the state and its people economically.”
“When Bengal elected 18 BJP MPs, even then they did not give anything to Bengal. Today also, the BJP has 12 MPs, but they didn’t give anything to Bengal. These 12 MPs will not even protest against this. Bengal has always been deprived, and the same has happened again today… Our (TMC) MPs have been vocal and have sought a rise in the allocation of funds for central projects. We have demanded new projects for Bengal but the state remains deprived,” he said.
“For West Bengal, this budget is nothing short of an economic betrayal. Not a single meaningful financial allocation has been made for the state. This is a deliberate financial blockade, a calculated move to stifle Bengal’s growth and development… The message is loud and clear: the NDA government does not care about the people, it only cares about power. This ‘Bangla-birodhi’ (anti-Bengal) Budget is yet another reminder that for the BJP, Bengal exists only as a political battleground, not as a state deserving of its rightful dues. The people of Bengal will not forget. The people of Bengal will not forgive,” he added.
Stating that several announcements in the Budget were made for Bihar as the Assembly elections there are due later this year, the TMC MP said: “They gave everything to Bihar. Even in the previous Budget, everything was done for Andhra Pradesh and Bihar. Now, the elections in Andhra Pradesh are over so they are focussing on Bihar. Just because Bihar will go to the polls this year, they have done everything for Bihar. They do everything keeping in mind the elections, not the common people.”
On Income Tax exemptions proposed in the Budget, Banerjee said, “I need to go through the contents of the proposals before speaking on that… As far as the Income Tax rebate is concerned, there is a lack of clarity. I have to read the whole thing and then I will say whatever I have to. But the Budget has nothing for the common people.”
Banerjee later said in a post on X: “The NDA government has once again laid bare its utter disregard for the people with a budget that reeks of political opportunism, not welfarism.” “This is not a people-centric budget — it is an election stunt designed to bankroll BJP’s electoral machinery and appease its allies,” he alleged.
The Trinamool Congress, in its official X handle, said, “Centre’s ‘Bangla-birodhi’ (anti-Bengal) stance has once again been exposed.” “It is not for the poor, not for balanced growth and certainly not for the principles of federalism,” the party said.
The CPI(M) on Saturday hit out at the Centre for “ignoring” West Bengal in the Union Budget, saying that it proved that the BJP has realised it has nothing to gain from the state where it is the main Opposition party.
“From this Budget, it can be seen that there is no link of the BJP with West Bengal. They (BJP leaders) only understand profit and have realised that they have nothing to gain from Bengal,” CPI(M) state secretary Md. Salim said.
Claiming that the focus of the Budget was Delhi and Bihar where Assembly elections are due, Salim said: “The FM (Nirmala Sitharaman) presented the Budget of Bihar and not the country.”
Noting that funds were reduced in the social sector, the CPI(M) leader said: “We are seeing no fund increase in MGNREGA. Instead, it has been reduced to Rs 86,000 crore. The Budget has not redressed issues like unemployment.”
Stating that some common items affordable by all should have been kept out of tax ambit, Salim said: “By reducing tariff for imports, the government is affecting the local businesses of the country.”
With PTI inputs