"Anti-Bengal..." to "Not a BJP office...," Mamata Banerjee assails BJP MLAs over ruckus in House
Feb 08, 2024
Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], February 8 : As the West Bengal government presented its annual budget on Thursday in the state Assembly, there was a huge uproar by the opposition MLAs that left the house in a chaotic situation, prompting a stern response from Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
Lashing out at BJP MLAs, Banerjee asserted that "This is not a BJP party office" and if the Opposition has any opinion, they can discuss it after the completion of the session.
The budget session started with the ruling TMC MLAs singing the state song, while the BJP MLAs sang the national anthem simultaneously.
The chaos, however, escalated as Minister of State for Finance Chandrima Bhattacharya was reading the budget and was interrupted by BJP MLAs, who started sloganeering in the House.
Coming down heavily on opposition MLAs, the Bengal chief minister termed BJP MLAs' action an "anti-Bengal" activity.
"If the opposition has any opinion, they can discuss it after the completion of the budget. They have the freedom to express their opinion, but this is not a BJP office. This is not the space for opposition to do politics. People have the right to know what work we have done. We condemn this dirty politics. They are against the state, anti-Bengal," she said.
"They don't want good for the people of Bengal. Aren't you ashamed that you are not allowing us to present the budget? Your opinion can be expressed in your speech, but this is not your BJP party office, this is the Assembly, she added.
Further hitting out at the Centre, Banerjee also recalled how 147 MPs got suspended from Parliament and said, "They should remember that they have suspended 147 MPs from Parliament, but we do not want to go down that path. You can be weak, but we are not, we will fight it out. If you have the courage, speak after the budget presentation, not before that."
West Bengal government presented its annual budget. The financial assistance under Lakshmir Bhandar has been increased to 1,000 Rs for women in the general category and raised to 1,200 Rs for SC/ST women.
State Finance Minister Chandrima Bhattacharya, who presented a budget of Rs 3,66,166 crore, made this announcement while presenting the financial budget in the state assembly on Thursday.
