During the general discussion on the Union Budget in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, Abhishek Banerjee, Parliamentary Party Leader of the All India Trinamool Congress, delivered a sharp and wide-ranging critique of the government, framing his intervention around what he called the reality of “two Indias” living side by side under the same Constitution. Banerjee said the Budget was less about economic healing and more about optics, arguing that it rewarded privilege while deepening distress. “This Budget does not heal the economy; it merely curates headlines,” he said, accusing the Centre of punishing honest taxpayers while offering relief to those with access and influence.
The idea of “Two Indias”
Drawing inspiration from famous stand up comedian Vir Das’ - once uttered controversial monologue from 2021 as “Two Indias”, reflective of cultural and constitutional imagery, Banerjee repeatedly returned to the contrast between the India projected by the government and the India experienced by ordinary citizens. Banerjee lamented what was once laughed off as satire had now become lived reality. “I come from those two Indias,” he said.
“One India proclaims ‘Ek Bharat, Shreshtha Bharat,’” Banerjee told the House. “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.” He questioned the cultural and political labelling of Bengalis, adding, “Does speaking Bengali make you Bangladeshi? Does eating fish make you a Mughal?”
Bengal erased, allies rewarded
Banerjee alleged that the Union government practised selective federalism, favouring allies while marginalising opposition-ruled states. He noted that West Bengal found no mention in the Finance Minister’s 85-minute speech. “The Constitution promises equality among States, but this government practises preference,” he said, calling it “subscription-based federalism.” He also pointed out that even infrastructure projects cited in the Budget were being misattributed. “Even the freight corridor from Dankuni referenced in this Budget was actually announced by the then Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee,” he said. According to Banerjee, Bengal’s dues amounting to Rs 1.96 lakh crore had been withheld. “What is being withheld is not just money. What is being withheld is dignity and the Constitution’s promise of equal treatment,” he said.
The “Triple” burden on citizens
At the heart of Banerjee’s critique was what he described as a system of “triple pressure” on ordinary Indians - taxation, inflation, and distrust. He introduced the idea of a “Triple Tax Trap,” arguing that citizens pay income tax, GST on essential consumption, and inflation, which he called “the most silent tax of all.”
“For the middle class,” he said, “it feels like the salary arrives on time but does not last the month.”
He extended the argument to daily life, stating that “a person who already pays income tax has to pay three taxes just to drive on a road - income tax, road tax, and toll tax. Three payments for one journey.”
Democracy and the burden of proving identity
Banerjee also linked economic policy to democratic erosion, warning that citizenship itself was being placed under suspicion. “Voting is no longer considered enough,” he said, arguing that repeated demands for proof of identity struck at the heart of Article 326 of the Constitution.
“If electoral rolls are so unreliable,” he warned, “then the legitimacy of this very House becomes questionable.”
Farmers, youth, and welfare gaps
On agriculture, Banerjee accused the government of abandoning farmers, noting that MSP assurances remained unfulfilled five years after the farmers’ movement. “Every day, nearly 30 farmers die by suicide,” he said, adding that PM-Kisan support had remained unchanged since 2018 despite rising costs.
He also criticised underutilisation of flagship schemes for youth, pointing out that less than five percent of the PM Internship Scheme funds had been used, while scholarship allocations had gone unspent.
Institutions, inequality, and silence
Banerjee accused the Centre of weakening institutions, diluting the RTI Act, keeping the PM CARES Fund outside scrutiny, and freezing key data sets. He said inequality was deepening, with the top 10 percent cornering a majority of income and wealth, while MSMEs struggled. “This Budget,” he said, “offers a triple bonanza for elites and a triple lock for the poor.”
A political warning
Concluding his speech, Banerjee framed the debate as not merely fiscal but political and constitutional. Referring to the BJP’s electoral losses in West Bengal, he said, “Files can be frozen, funds can be stalled, voices can be suppressed but memories cannot be erased.”
“When the people rise,” he added, “and the ballot breaks the silence, the final account will be settled.”
