Centre practising ‘subscription-based federalism’, neglected Bengal: Abhishek

Kolkata: Trinamool Congress (TMC) national general secretary and Diamond Harbour MP Abhishek Banerjee on Tuesday used the floor of Parliament to voice sharp concerns over the “Centre’s neglect of Bengal in the Union Budget”, while accusing the BJP-led government of following a model of “subscription-based federalism”.

Turning to the Opposition’s move to bring a no-confidence motion against the Lok Sabha Speaker, Banerjee underlined his party’s commitment to Parliamentary democracy, constructive debate and accountability, but stressed that any step towards a no-confidence motion must emerge from a collective decision of the INDIA bloc, rather than unilateral action.

Banerjee proposed an alternate path of “restraint” and a “constructive and calibrative” approach.

“The Opposition must first give a joint undertaking to the Speaker, listing out four demands. If the government continues to stonewall, the INDIA bloc will be forced to support a no-confidence motion,” he said.

Banerjee criticised the Speaker’s conduct during the recent adjournments of the Lok Sabha and questioned the overall functioning of Parliament.

Earlier in the day, Opposition parties like Congress, Samajwadi Party, and DMK handed over a notice to the Lok Sabha secretary general, accusing Speaker Om Birla of showing “blatantly partisan” conduct. The notice was given by Congress leaders Gaurav Gogoi, K. Suresh, and Mohamed Jawed.

However, according to sources in TMC, the party has not yet signed the notice and is waiting, giving the Speaker time to rethink.

While discussing the Union Budget, Banerjee in Lok Sabha said the Constitution of India promises equality among states, but the Nerendra Modi government practices favoritism. “The Union Finance minister spoke for 85 minutes, but Bengal was not mentioned once. Even the freight corridor from Dankuni referenced in this Budget was actually announced by the then Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee, who is now the Chief Minister of West Bengal,” Banerjee said.

“The Constitution promises equality among States, but this government practises preference. Allies are funded, while opponents are starved. This is not a model of cooperative federalism, but of subscription-based federalism,” he added. Banerjee also attacked the Centre on several issues, be it the death of 150 people in Bengal in the last 2 months due to SIR or the Central deprivation of Bengal.

“In 2021, Vir Das spoke of two Indias. While many laughed, it was more of a prophecy. Because I come from those two Indias. One India proclaims ‘Ek Bharat, Shreshtha Bharat,’ and I also come from an India where mother tongues become a marker of suspicion, where speaking Bengali makes you a Bangladeshi, and eating fish makes you a Mughal. Does speaking Bengali make you Bangladeshi? Does eating fish make you a Mughal?” Banerjee asked.

“I also come from an India where saying “Joy Bangla” or “Amar Sonar Bangla” is enough to label you a “ghuspaithiya”. I come from an India that thunders “Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas,” but I also come from an India where Bengal’s rightful dues, to the tune of Rs 1,96,000 crore, are frozen in cold bureaucratic silence,” Banerjee said.

Slamming further, he said: “I come from India, where the Finance minister proudly declares that India is the fastest-growing economy. I also come from another India where Bengal, which contributed Rs 6.5 lakh crore in taxes in just the last seven years, has been denied its rightful share.”

He remarked: “Despite continuous appeals, employment under MNREGA has been withheld, housing under PM Awas Yojana has been stopped, road connectivity under Gram Sadak Yojana has been blocked, and even basic drinking water under the Jal Jeevan Mission has been stalled.”

“The government wants to punish Bengal. You want to freeze our funds, yet we will persist. You have withheld the money for all our schemes, but we have shown what a self-reliant Bengal truly looks like,” Banerjee maintained.

Banerjee once again blamed the Centre for the loss of 150 lives in Bengal due to the implementation of allegedly “unplanned” SIR. “In Bengal alone, 150 lives have been lost in the last couple of months, and nearly one crore people are being treated as suspects. If electoral rolls are so unreliable that every citizen has to constantly prove their legitimacy, then the legitimacy of this very House becomes questionable,” Banerjee pointed out.

About atrocities on women across the country, he said: “More than 86 women are raped every day in this country, a reflection of systemic collapse. Bengal passed the Aparajita Bill with stringent punishment provisions to create a strong deterrent. The Bill was duly sent to the Union through the Governor, yet for one and a half years it has remained in limbo.”

Alleging that the Union Finance minister appears to be practising the Robin Hood model, he said: “She drains the poor through taxation and inflation while rewarding the rich with concessions and privileges.”

“It rewards those who can evade taxes through privilege and punishes those who pay taxes honestly,” he added.

Alleging that people are taxed thrice, Banerjee said: “An ordinary citizen believes they pay tax just once, but in reality, they pay tax three times. First, income tax is deducted even before the salary reaches their hands. Second, GST, from biscuits to notebooks, from sugar to spices, from electricity bills to medical expenses. Indirect taxes follow you everywhere.”

“The government celebrates record GST collections, but these do not reflect prosperity. They reflect a system squeezing revenue from consumption, often from necessity, not choice,” Banerjee said adding: “The third is inflation, the most silent tax of all. A tax that rises without permission and collects without responsibility. It is a slow leak in the common man’s wallet. For the middle class, inflation feels like the salary arrives on time but does not last the month.”

“Third, corporate India receives the red carpet, easier property rules, wider equity access for NRIs, and massive infrastructure promises.

Five years after the historic farmers’ movement, which claimed 700 lives, the Union government has still not legalised MSP, he alleged further.

“Adding salt to injury, the government has signed a deal with the United States that opens Indian markets to heavily subsidised American farm produce. It may benefit American farmers, but it will depress prices, destroy competitiveness, and further marginalised Indian farmers. This is an abandonment of our annadata,” Banerjee maintained.

“The US Agriculture Secretary, Brooke Rollins, has stated that this new US-India deal will export more American farm produce to India’s massive market. She said that in 2024, America’s agricultural trade deficit with India was $1.3 billion and that this deal would help reduce it...If our government disagrees, where is the disapproval?” Banerjee asked.

Referring to PM Cares Funds, he said: “The RTI Act has been diluted. The PM CARES Fund is kept outside its ambit. NFHS data has been frozen, and welfare still runs on Census 2011.”