Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman slammed TMC’s Abhishek Banerjee in Lok Sabha, accusing him of spreading misinformation on GST and the Union Budget’s allocation for West Bengal. She listed several benefits for the state in the budget.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday hit out at Trinamool Congress leader Abhishek Banerjee accusing him of twisting facts “known to everyone in the House” and rejected allegations by TMC MPs that West Bengal did not find s mention in the Union Budget, stating that “it is deliberate attempt to spread misinformation”.
Replying to the debate in Lok Saha on the Union Budget, she took several digs at Trinamool Congress, saying Abhishek Banerjee mentioned about GST having to be paid even after death but there is no GST on funeral services and “may be it’s the syndicate running in West Bengal, which will be charging cut money on death”.
Sitharaman refutes Banerjee’s GST claims
“I heard Abhishek 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? There’s no GST on education. Effectively, the GST is exempt. Pre-school to higher secondary education, there’s no GST. Education leading to recognised qualifications, there’s no GST. On books, textbooks & notebooks, there’s no GST since 2017. He even spoke about pencil, sharpener etc. How can someone lie so much?” Sitharaman said.
“Pencils, sharpeners, erasers, exercise books, notebooks, and maps have zero GST. On Healthcare services (treatment, diagnosis, care), I want to thank the members of the GST Council, there’s 0% GST since 1st July, 2017. Health & Life Insurance on Individual plans was brought down to zero per cent in the Next Gen GST reforms. He even mentioned about that an individual is charged GST even after his death. There was no GST on funeral services ever in the first place. May be it’s the syndicate running in West Bengal, which will be charging cut money on death,” she added.
Attack on West Bengal’s law and order
Continuing her attack on Abhishek Banerjee, Sitharman also slammed West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. She said Abhishek Banerjee spoke something “which hit me like a sharp needle, when he said something like survival is actually becoming a dikkat”.
“He spoke particularly for women. In October 2025, an MBBS student from Odisha was gang-raped near her medical college in Durgapur. She fought through the legal process and rejoined her college only in February 2026. Then, West Bengal CM, despite being a woman herself, publicly said: ‘Especially the girl child at night time. They should not be allowed to come out in the outside.’ They’re not improving the law & order situation but pinning the blame on the women. One of the MPs from their party said on that rape incident, ‘What can be done if a friend rapes you?’ Abhishek Banerjee is saying that their State made a law, then sent it to the Governor, who further sent it to the President & we didn’t get any clearance. Will it solve everything?” she asked.
Sitharaman said that in Kaliganj, in June 2025, a girl was killed in a bomb blast. “A TMC leader was also arrested in that case. In Medinipur, a TMC leader was arrested in connection with a bomb incident. In Bengal, bomb works not law and order. According to National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data, the conviction rate for crimes in Bengal ranks 35th out of 36 states,” she said.
‘Bengal govt not proactive in seeking central projects’
She said the West Bengal government needs to be proactive and take advantage of central schemes and announcements. “We announced Chemical Parks in a challenge mode. We’ve announced three such parks without naming any States? Can’t West Bengal come forward & ask for one such park near petrochemical base in Haldia? We also announced City Economic Regions. I haven’t named any State. For the next 5 years, every year we’ll give Rs 1,000 crore per CER. Kolkata-Howrah & Asansol-Durgapur can be included. Who’s stopping them? They instead want to get annoyed, run to Supreme Court for everything, get scolded there but won’t accept that Centre is helping West Bengal,” 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 Govts not competing sincerely for projects in a transparent challenge mode. We’ve announced one more National Institute of Design. This time in Purvodaya. West Bengal can come forward and take it. Who’s stopping them?” Sitharaman asked.
Budgetary provisions for West Bengal
The Finance Minister said that the Budget 2026-27 places West Bengal at the centre of the Purvodaya (Rise of the East) strategy. “The Budget explicitly announces an integrated East Coast Industrial Corridor with a node at Durgapur, positioning the Asansol-Durgapur belt as Eastern India’s industrial anchor. The Varanasi-Siliguri High speed train corridor brings high-speed rail to North Bengal, turning Siliguri into a strategic transit hub. A National Fibre Scheme for self-reliance in Jute directly targets Bengal’s Hooghly-belt mills and lakhs of jute farmers get benefited from it,” she said.
“Duty-free inputs now include shoe uppers, and export timelines extend from 6 months to 1 year, directly boosting to Kolkata’s leather exporters. One of five world-class tourism destinations in Purvodaya states will be developed across West Bengal in places of their choice. TCS cut on Tendu leaves, which help in production of beedis, from 5% to 2% benefits tribal communities in Bankura, Purulia, and Midnapore. Aren’t these steps not for the benefit of West Bengal?” she asked.
West Bengal will go the polls in the first half of this year. (ANI)
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