Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday launched a sharp attack on the Trinamool Congress and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, alleging a complete breakdown of law and order in the state.
Replying to the debate on the Union Budget in the Lok Sabha, Sitharaman said a “bomb culture” prevails in West Bengal. “Bengal mein bomb chalta hai, kanun nahi chalta (in Bengal, it is bombs that prevail, not the law),” she said, triggering uproar from Opposition benches.
advertisement
<a href="https://www.indiatoday.in/india-today-insight/story/kaliganj-bypoll-how-a-girls-crude-bomb-death-tainted-trinamools-victory-2745485-2025-06-24″ target=”_blank”>She cited a bomb blast in Kaliganj in June 2025 in which a child was killed and a TMC leader was arrested. With the state set to go to polls in the next couple of months, the minister questioned the law and order situation under the TMC government.
Targeting Mamata Banerjee, Sitharaman said the Chief Minister failed to improve law and order but instead asked women to stay indoors in the evenings. Referring to an incident in October 2025, she said an MBBS student from Odisha studying in Durgapur was gang-raped. “You are not able to improve law and order on one hand and on the other you are blaming women,” she said.
SITHRAMAN REFUTS ABHISHEK BANERJEE’S GST REMARKS
The Finance Minister also refuted remarks made by TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee, accusing him of misleading the House on GST. She said he wrongly claimed that GST was imposed on milk, stationery, education and even funeral services.
“I heard Banerjee’s speech very carefully. It’s unfortunate that he twisted facts which are known to everyone in this House. Very conveniently he spoke about the life cycle of an individual & lied. Ever since the GST was introduced in 2017, there has been zero GST on milk. Is he taking the members of this House as fools?” she said.
Sitharaman clarified that there has been no GST on education from pre-school to higher secondary levels and no GST on books, textbooks, notebooks, pencils, sharpeners, erasers, exercise books and maps since 2017. She added that healthcare services, including treatment, diagnosis and care, have had zero GST since July 1, 2017. She further said health and life insurance on individual plans was reduced to zero per cent in the next generation GST reforms in September 2025.
“There has never been any GST on funeral services in the first place,” she said, rejecting the allegation that GST is charged even after death. She added, “Maybe it’s the syndicate running in West Bengal, which will be charging cut money on death.”
On Budget allocations, Sitharaman rejected the TMC’s claim that nothing was provided for West Bengal. She said the Centre announced three chemical parks in challenge mode without naming any state and asked why West Bengal could not seek one near the petrochemical base in Haldia.
She also referred to the announcement of City Economic Regions (CERs), under which the Centre will provide Rs 1,000 crore per year for five years for each region. She said Kolkata-Howrah and Asansol-Durgapur could be included if the state government came forward. “Who’s stopping them?” she asked.
The minister said several other proposals in the Budget allow states to participate. She pointed out that the government has announced one more National Institute of Design in Purvodaya and invited West Bengal to seek it.
Criticising the state government’s approach, she said, “These people are always ready to lecture on federalism. They should come forward, propose projects and take them. Many announcements will require a proactive approach from the state government. We cannot have state governments not competing sincerely for projects in a transparent challenge mode.”
ABHISHEK BANERJEE THANKS SITHARAMAN FOR ‘EMBODYING DIVIDE’
Soon after Sitharaman’s speech, Abhishek Banerjee posted a response on X, questioning the Finance Minister’s remarks.
“I genuinely wish the Finance Minister had taken the time to examine the sources of the information I tabled in the Lok Sabha last evening before delivering her reply. But perhaps expecting that degree of diligence and intellectual engagement is asking for too much,” he wrote.
“I come from two Indias. One where families struggle to afford onions and where survival itself becomes an aspiration. And another where the occupant of the nation’s highest financial office can casually declare she is unbothered — because she does not consume onions. Thank you Nirmala Sitharaman, for not just acknowledging the two Indias but embodying the divide so effortlessly!” he added.
– Ends
Tune In
Must Watch
SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
