Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday launched a scathing attack on the Trinamool Congress in the Lok Sabha, accusing the ruling party in Bengal of “institutionalising corruption” and having become a “byword for exploitation”.
Sitharaman’s attack came while she was replying to the discussion on the budget amid uproarious protests by Trinamool MPs. While speaking in the House earlier, Trinamool MP Abhishek Banerjee and others had termed the budget as “Bengal virodhi”.
Amid repeated interventions by Trinamool’s Kalyan Banerjee while she was replying, Sitharaman first listed what all the central government had given to Bengal in different sectors and then settled to launch political attacks.
“It’s ironic, Trinamool, which means grassroots, that prides itself on being rooted in the grassroots, now symbolises harassment and denial of rights to the common people,” she told the Lok Sabha. Trinamool MPs were on their feet in protest but the minister went on amid the din.
Citing examples to buttress her charge, she said: “25 lakh fake job cards in MGNREGA. Once meant for people at the grassroots has been looted by the cadres. ₹100 crore mid-day meal fraud; ration mafia thriving in the state atthe grassroots…”
Sitharaman said there was just 43 per cent tap water coverage in Bengal as opposed to the national average of 74 per cent and went on to allege that there were no jobs or factories in the state that used to be an industrial powerhouse at the time of Independence.
“Capital formation crashed from 6.7 per cent in 2010 to 2.9 per cent in recent years. No jobs, no factories, no vision, that’s Bengal for you,” she said.
Sitharaman said Bengal had a share of 24 per cent in manufacturing in 1947 but it has fallen to 3.5 percent now. “Bengal’s per capita income lags behind the national average for the last 20 years. It ranked 23rd among all states in the country in 2021-22. The Trinamool Congress has institutionalised corruption, gutted institutions and Trinamool has become a byword for exploitation,” she said, as Trinamool MPs protested loudly.
Unfazed, Sitharaman pointed out how the Trinamool MPs had alleged that the budget was “Bengal virodhi ” to sharpen her attack. “Bengal virodhi budget bola gaya, I want to ask, Trinamool virodhi TMC ho gaya hai kya?,” (The budget was said to be anti-Bengal. I want to ask if the TMC has become anti-grassroots,” she said.
Trinamool MP Mahua Moitra told reporters later: “This kind of venom and biased reply is completely unbecoming. It is the same thing every time. She is just playingwith numbers.”
She said the finance minister had been talking about complaints for a long time but the Centre had been blocking funds for Bengal despite an action taken report submitted by the state government.
“Our MGNREGA dues and PM Awas Yojna dues have not been paid for the last three years. ₹7000 crore is due on MGNREGA, over ₹3000 crore is due on housing.... Again she is saying there are complaints. We have given action taken reports. For three years you are depriving the state,”Moitra said.
