TMC MPs in Rajya Sabha walk out over pending dues for West Bengal, claim state ignored in Budget

The Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Monday once again raised the issue of pending central dues payable to West Bengal and staged a walkout from the Rajya Sabha shortly after the House met.

Speaking to the media after the walkout, TMC’s deputy leader in the Rajya Sabha, Sagarika Ghose, alleged that the Centre owed West Bengal nearly Rs 2 lakh crore.

“Today, in the Rajya Sabha, the All India Trinamool Congress has walked out because Bengal has not been mentioned even once in the Budget and its dues are still being held up. Around Rs 2 lakh crore is due to Bengal under various heads - MGNREGA, Awas Yojana, PMAY and others,” Ghose told PTI Videos.

Calling it a violation of constitutional norms, Ghose said, “This is a violation of the federal structure, Centre-state relations and the Constitution.”

She further claimed that West Bengal had been ignored in the Union Budget presented on Sunday.

“The manner in which the Budget chose to ignore Bengal is the reason we raised this issue on the floor of Parliament and staged a walkout,” she said.

Rajya Sabha MP Mamata Thakur also accused the Centre of discriminating against West Bengal following the BJP’s defeat in the state in the 2021 Assembly elections.

“Since the people of Bengal decisively rejected the BJP in 2021, the Centre has responded with vindictiveness instead of federal responsibility by blocking MGNREGA wages, withholding funds for roads and rural infrastructure, and stalling welfare-linked allocations meant for the poor and marginalised,” Thakur said.

Describing the situation as “systematic discrimination,” Thakur said the party would continue its protest.

“To oppose this grave injustice, TMC Rajya Sabha MPs staged a walkout from Parliament today. We will continue to raise our voice inside and outside Parliament until Bengal receives its rightful dues,” she added.