‘Budget a Marich moment and BJP’s reverse Robin Hood policy’
Kolkata: Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Abhishek Banerjee during the discussion on the Union Budget in the Parliament on Friday accused the Centre of mastering the art of taking from the poor and giving it to wealthy people exposing the BJP’s ‘Reverse Robin Hood” practice.
The Budget is a ‘Marich moment’ from epic Ramayana, he remarked. “An illusion designed to deceive. Just as demon Marich took the golden form of deer to lure Maa Sita away, the NDA govt gas-crafted a shining dazzling Budget, promising prosperity while hiding the economic catastrophe beneath,” he said. He stated that the Centre was taxing people on money that had already been taxed. He pointed out that after individuals pay taxes on their earnings, they are taxed again when they spend that money. He called the “no tax” for those earning up to Rs 12 lakh annually, deceptive. He argued that since the government has imposed fuel price hikes and high GST on essential goods, people’s disposable income has been effectively reduced. He accused the Centre of creating an illusion of relief while burdening citizens with indirect taxes. From reduced healthcare allocation to the removal of the Railway Budget to the lack of relief for farmers’ debts, Banerjee criticised the Centre as being riddled with “half-truths, half-ministers and half-accountability.”
“This Budget might shimmer but is as hollow. Beneath this illusion (Budget) lies the brutal reality – hidden indirect taxes, soaring inflation, slashed public spending and corporate giveaways. Just as Maa Sita was misled, the common people are being pulled away from financial stability straight into a fiscal wrecking ball,” Banerjee added further.
Drawing parallels between NDA-ruled Bihar and AITC-ruled Bengal, Banerjee highlighted how the Bangla-Birodhi Budget by the NDA government had not deterred Bengal from establishing its Atma Nirbharta. He also stressed the importance of the Census, adding that without one, “every policy, income tax slab revision, and economic projection is simply and just a blind projection and a blind gamble”.
He also made it clear that Bengal will rise irrespective of the fact if the Centre provides funds or not. The 30-minute address was interspersed with pop-culture references such as drawing parallels between the Central government and Virus, a dictatorial character from Rajkumar Hirani’s 2009 blockbuster ‘3 Idiots.’ He concluded his speech by eventually reminding the government of the famous adage by Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan – ‘Don’t Underestimate Power Of A Common Man.’
“Infrastructure projects remain half-finished, welfare schemes reach half the beneficiaries and their failed economic policies cater to half the population leaving the rest in uncertainty.
This is not a vision for developed India; it is a half-baked agenda wrapped in propaganda,” he said. “Now, I will come to half-truths: The NDA government in Maharashtra launched the Ladki Bahin DBT scheme for women in the state just before the Assembly polls last year to use as political bait. Now, when polls are over, they have conveniently started scrutinising beneficiaries, removing 60 lakh women from the scheme. This is their JUMLA.
