Govt has adopted model of subscription-based federalism, says TMC's Abhishek Banerjee; questions Bengal allocation in Budget

Speaking in the Lok Sabha, the TMC MP asserted that the current government practises favouritism, saying, "the Constitution promises equality among states".

"Akhilesh ji was speaking before me. He said he wanted to see what UP received in this Budget. The Finance Minister spoke for 85 minutes. Bengal was not even mentioned once," Banerjee said while speaking during the ongoing Budget session.

Recalling the mention of "freight corridor from Dankuni" in the Union Budget, Diamond Harbour MP added that this project was announced when Mamata Banerjee was holding the position of Railway Minister in the UPA II era.

"Even the freight corridor from Dankuni, referenced in this very budget, was originally announced by the then Railway Minister in 2009, Mamata Banerjee, who is now the CM of West Bengal. 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; this is a model of subscription-based federalism," Banerjee added.

On February 1, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman proposed seven high-speed rail corridors, new dedicated freight corridors, and the operationalisation of 20 national waterways over the next five years as part of the Union Budget. Sitharaman made big announcements ahead of the legislative assembly election in West Bengal later this year. He said the government will establish new dedicated freight corridors connecting Dangkuni in West Bengal in the east to Surat in the west.

Just before Abhishek Banerjee's speech, Samajwadi Party Chief Akhilesh Yadav also pointed out the development disparities in states like poll-bound West Bengal, Bihar and UP in the Lower House.

Yadav questioned the lack of bullet train projects here."Why is there no bullet train in Bengal, Bihar, UP, there is a lot of discrimination in the BJP government, BJP MLA surrounded the minister, why was the metro not laid in Varanasi, MoUs were signed but how many were implemented on the ground, the government should take decisions on China carefully, the lion of Make in India is eating junk," Yadav added.

Hitting out at Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over the India-US trade deal, he asserted that the government has not negotiated a favourable deal with the Trump administration. He stressed the need to "focus on ground realities."(ANI)