February 9, 2023
Saugata Roy’s speech on February 9, 2023 in the Lok Sabha during the General Discussion on the Union Budget for 2023-23
Sir, I rise to participate in the Budget discussion. Yesterday also, Budget discussion took place. Today it is taking place. It is very unfortunate that the Finance Minister has not been present on either occasion. The Budget discussion belong to the Lok Sabha. The Rajya Sabha has no power. I understand the Finance Minister is from the Rajya Sabha. Why is she not there on either day? अध्यक्ष महोदय, यह वमवनस्टर ऑफ स्टेट हैं। The Railway Minister whose Budget also comes under this is also not here. These are all big people. They do not care otherwise. The Lok Sabha has full power as far as Budgets are concerned. दोनों नहीं हैं, यह क्या मजाक है? The Railway Minister should be present to listen to our objections. Sir, I will speak on the Budget. Before I go to my main demands, I want to mention two points regarding our State of West Bengal. West Bengal has been deprived of its share of NREGS funds. A sum of Rs. 7,300 crore is pending from the Centre. Along with Shri Sudip Bandyopadhyay, we all went and met the Rural Development Minister. Our local Minister went and met him. He said everything is alright. Still, money is not being released. You also belong to a rural area. Just imagine the situation in the rural economy if total NREGS funds are stopped. People will be starving. अध्यक्ष महोदय, यह एलेक्स है, गला ठीक रखनेकी है। प्रधानमंत्री जी पानी पीतेहैंऔर मैंएलेक्स खाता ह ं। Sir, it for health. Now, I demand that the money for NREGS for West Bengal should be released immediately and the Government should give up its cruel attitude. Secondly, I have to speak something about Railways. The Railway Minister made a big hue and cry that he has given Rs. 11,000 crore to West Bengal for unfinished projects but nothing is finishing. He will earn name as a Railway Minister who is very smart. He is starting Vande Bharat trains so that PM can go and inaugurate it. These have no long-term benefits. In Kolkata metro system, he is inaugurating a truncated line. There is a line from Behala to BBD Bag. He goes to inaugurate Joka to Taratala line which is one-third complete. So, I demand that whatever Railway projects he is doing, let him complete them instead of inaugurating truncated lines. Sir, I wanted to speak on the Budget. Shrimati Nirmala Sitharaman herself called her Budget beautifully balanced. I have never heard a Finance Minister praise her own Budget. She is saying India is set to become a $5 trillion economy, and the Budget is beautifully balanced. I willिtalkिaboutि‘balance’ि later.िButिitिisिunfortunateिthatिtheिFinanceिMinister’sिBudgetिSpeechिdoesि not mention the words unemployment, poverty, inequality, inflation or equity anywhere in the speech. So, even if it is beautifully balanced, it is that of an accountant. This Budget has no vision about the future. It is not futuristic, but opportunistic, anti-people and anti-poor. This is what Mamata Banerjee said about the Budget. Unfortunately, as soon as the Finance Minister presented the Budget, the next day, an avalanche took place. Avalanche of what? Hindenburg Research Report! One short-selling firm from America released a report about a company in India. I will not name the company. When we were small, after sunset, we could not useिtheिwordि‘सांप’. My mother used toिsayि‘don’tिuseिtheिwordि‘सांप’,िsay ‘लता’. Now, there is a new word. We cannotि mentionि somebody’sि name.ि Weि haveि toि sayि ‘A’ि company,ि `thisि company’.िButि‘thisिcompany’िisिeverything.िWeिcannotिmentionिtheिnameि just like my mother told me when I was young living in a village. We could notिmentionिtheिwordि‘snake’. He has become a new spokesperson forिtheिRulingिPartyिtoिpreventिtheिOpposition’sिprotest. He has become the new spokesman after being dropped from the Ministry. Heिhasिstartedिexplainingिeverythingि… GoिbackिtoिtheिMinistry. Thatि isि theि newि way. Some professional hecklers have sprungि up.ि Their job is to disturb the Opposition wheneverिtheyिspeak. I cannot take concern about them. Now, I will be very brief on this matter. I have other things to speak about. The Hindenburg research report said that a certain company did round- tripping of its finances, and they bought up assets in India after round-tripping them from abroad. You know in the snowy areas, the ice comesिdown.िTheिiceिcameिdownिonिthisिcompany’sिshares.िInिthreeिdays,ि itिlostिtoिtheिtuneिofिRs.ि10िlakhिcrore. यि कौन सी कंपनी िै, आप लोग बताए।ं इसका नाम तो वलया निीं जा सकता, यि सांप िै। … िमेंकोई डर निीं िै, अडानी बोलेंगेतो येलोग बोलेंगेवक काट दीवजए, उनका नाम निीं जाना चाविए। यि सांप िै। … IिhaveिaिsimpleिdemandिfromिtheिFinanceिMinister.ि She has got the SEBI under her. If a company has done round-tripping, it is the job of SEBI to look into it. I demand that she ask SEBI to inquire into the fallen shares of this certain company. Also, the Enforcement Directorate (ED), matter of fear for the Opposition, is also under the Finance Minister. They are investigating each and every politician from the Opposition. Why is the ED not investigating the affairs of this company? Yes, he is not in the Opposition. Yes, very right. Lalan Singh Ji is a first class leader from Bihar and President of theि JD(U).ि Heि isि supportingि meि andि Iि thankि himि forि theि same. Now, I call this Budget basically an anti-farmer, anti-poor, anti-rural areas Budget. You know that they have reduced the allocation for MGNREGA. Sir, there has been reduction in the allocation of MGNREGA, and cut in food, fertiliser and petroleum subsidies. This is anti-poor. Sir, you will know that food subsidy has been cut from Rs. 2.87 lakh … Sir, what is it that I am saying that is objectionable? Thisि youngि manि isि shouting. िSir,ि youि pleaseि putि himि down. The food subsidy has been cut from Rs. 2.87 lakh crore to Rs. 1.97 lakh crore. Fertilizer subsidy has been cut from Rs. 2.25 lakh crore to Rs. 1.75 lakh crore. These cuts will expose Indian farmers to the vagaries of the global market and render the economics of agriculture even more fragile. This is a very serious matter, which should be looked into. What were we expecting? I was actually, originally thinking of praising the Finance Minister because she has herself said that the Budget is beautifully balanced. So, I thought that yes, it is balanced, but her balance is that of an Accountant. You know that in the Finance Ministry there is a Deputy Secretary who tallies the Budget and he ultimately balances both sides. The Finance Minister has done just that. This was the opportunity when inflation was under control, GDP was rising, current account balance was better, and fiscal deficit was under control. This was the time to take a big step forward. What did Abhijit Vinayak Banerjee say at the time of pandemic? He said that give some cash dole in the hands of the poor. The Budget does notि mentionि anywhereि theि wordsि ‘migrantि labour’ि who were the biggest Achilles heel of the Indian economy. People were walking hundreds of miles to their destination when the pandemic broke. They have not been mentioned. The top economists of the world wanted them to be given some cash dole / some money. The Finance Minister did not do it. The other thing she could have done in a stable macroeconomic situation was to reduce the prices of petrol, diesel and LPG. If you have a little financial space, then that is the time to give relief to the common man. She did not do this because she had to balance the Budget ‘beautifully’.िSo,िthisिBudget,िultimatelyिturnedिoutिtoिbeिwhat?िItिisिanti-poor people. So, that is the Budget. Now, you are talking about Digital India. Digital India is alright, but, Sir, you must be knowing that technology takes away jobs. Today, all the big tech companies like Microsoft, Meta and Amazon are all retrenchingिpeople.िTheyिareिcalledि‘pinkिslips’िinिAmerica.िItिisिhappeningि because technology always relentlessly takes away jobs. So, to talk about Digital India or Industrial Revolution 4.0 or three Artificial Intelligence CentresिwillिnotिsolveिIndia’sिproblem.िIndia’sिbasicिproblemsिareिpoverty,ि destitution, migrant labour and of course, unemployment. The employment issue has not been addressed at all. The Finance Minister will come and say, see I have increased so much in CapEx. What is CapEx? It is Capital Expenditure. How much has she given in it? It is Rs. 10 lakh crore, which is a very big sum. But does the CapEx get translated into projects anywhere? No, it does not. If you give the money today, the project will take another one or two years to start. What happens in the meantime? When you are building infrastructure projects, the main problem is that they take a lot of time. Some people get employment during construction. But after construction is over, they lose the jobs. So, you are taking India towards a jobless future from a very favourable situation. IिseeिMr.िGajendraिSinghिSekhawatिdoingि`Namaskar’िtoिme.िIिlikeि that.िHeिisिtheिfavouredिchild. Heिdidि`Namaskar’िtoिyou.ि Probably, it must have been because that would have been moreिproper. There are only two favoured children. Who are favoured children? One is this—the Jal Jeevan Mission. They have allocated Rs.70,000 crore, and the other is the PM Awas Yojana, for which they have allocated Rs.79,000 crore. But the NREGA has received a cut. So, if you developिonlyिtwoिprojects,िwillिthatिbeिenoughिtoिalleviateिIndia’sिproblems?ि Iिdoिnotिthinkिso.िIिthinkिyouिareिmakingिaिmistake. आप मेरीबात सवुनए।…(व्यिधान) मेरेपास डेटाहैवक आपनेक्या- क्या वकया है। आपनेजो नहीं वकया है, मेरा काम उसकेबारेमेंबोलना है।… महोदय, सभी मेरेअच्छेदोस्त हैं। येसमझतेहैंवक एक बडु्ढा आदमी बोल रहा है, तो इसकी मदद की जाए। येसब लोग मदद करतेहैं।… The other thing is, क्या आपको याद हैवक माननीय प्रधानमंत्री जी नेिादा वकया था वक िषा2022 तक वकसानों की इन्द्कम दोगनुी हो जाएगी? आपके कोटा में भी तो वकसान हैं, क्या उनकी इन्द्कम दोगनुी हुई? नहीं हुई।… They promised that by 2020, everybody would have a house. क्या सब लोगों को घर वमला? आप बोलतेहैंवक प्रधानमंत्री रोजगार योजना मेंसब लोगों को घर वमल जाएगा, लेवकन घर नहीं वमला। येजमुलेिाली सरकार है। एक-एक साल एक-एक सिाल उठाती ह कुछ पसानल प्रॉब्लम है।… Sir, Last year, they made a promise about the asset monetisation pipeline. They made a promise about the asset monetisation pipeline. क्या यह इस साल केबजट मेंह? ै नहीं है। कुछ एसेट्स मोनेटाइज नहीं हुए हैं। They used to speak about disinvestment. वपछलेसाल भी 50 हजार करोड़ रुपयेथा और इस साल भी बजट में50 हजार करोड़ रुपयेहै। कोई भी आपके एसेट्स लेनेके वलए, वडसइंिेस्टमेंट के वलए इंटरस्े टेड नहीं हैं। Your programmes are failing one by one. Shrimati Nirmala Sitharaman has this advantage, she makes an announcement and forgets about it next year but we keep the last year’s Budget and we remember what all she said. That is why, this Budget that was brought with good intentions at a time when Indian economy was recovering from the downslide of the COVID missed all the opportunities. I will briefly complete my point. मझुेबहुत वडस्टबाकर वदया है। इन लोगों का … हैऔरहमेंवडस्टबाकरतेहैं।… कल अधीर रजं न चौधरी जीगलिान केबारे मेंबोल रहेथेवक चाइना वकतनेपॉइंट तक गलिान मेंदखल वकया, वकतनेपॉइंट तक अरुणाचल प्रदेि मेंदखल वकया। वडफेंस बजट बढ़ानेकी क्या जरूरत थी? पूरेबजट का वसफा 1.5 परसेंट बढ़ा। This remains almost the same if you consider inflation. अभी तक छत्तीसगढ़ मेंमाओिादी लोगों को मार रहेहैं। अभी परसों बीजेपी के एक आदमी को मार वदया गया। सीआरपीएफ का एलॉटमेंट भी नहींबढ़ा। येलोगबोलतेहैंवक हम हेल्थ और ऐजकुेिन के वलए पैसेदेंगे। एजकुेिन के वलएपूरेबजट का केिल 2.9 परसेंट एलॉटमेंट वकया गया।…ि(व्यिधान) हेल्थ की इतनी प्रॉब्लम है, लेवकन उसके वलए भी कोई एलॉटमेंट नहीं है।… सर, इन लोगों का … Lastly, I want to say that giving allocation is not enough. In our country, you have to see that the projects are implemented on the ground. The Government has spent Rs. 22,000 crore less of what it had allocated for CapEx in this fiscal year. Allocating money is not equal to spending money, nor is allocating money equal to creatingjobs. They have mentioned all ‘Taar Kaata Hua’ programmes for India’! सर, आप सवुनए वक कुछ प्रोजेक्ट्स के वलए एक पैसा भी नहीं वदया गया है।… अभी भी हमारी इकोनॉमी मेंprivate investment, equity and FDI constitute 40 per cent. Since last year, FDI is escaping from the economy. You find out how much FDI money has gone out. Private investment is being squeezed out because the Government is doing huge borrowings so the private sector is not being able to mop up resources. This point that they are giving everything to CapEx and creating a deficit financing creates a problem. यह देवखए, कुछ प्रोजेक्ट्स का अनाउंसमेंट वकया गया – Agriculture Accelerator Fund, PM-PRANAM, GOBARdhan Scheme, Prakritik Kheti BioInput, MISHTI Scheme, यह मैंग्रोि के वलए हैऔर अच्छी है। Amrit Dharohar Scheme and even for millets, इनके वलए एक भी पैसा एलॉट नहीं वकया गया है। सर, एक भी पैसा एलॉट नहीं वकया गया है। केिल फाइनेंस वमवनस्टर नेबजट स्पीच में एनाउसंमेंट की हैऔर बजट पेपसा मेंइनका कोई मेंिन नहीं है– ‘पीएम प्रणाम,’िएग्रीकल्चर एक्सलरटे र फण्ड, गोबरधन, नेचरुल खेती आवद । यह नेचरुल खेती क्याहोतीहै? … क्या आप गोबरधन केपक्ष मेंह? You show it to me in the Budget. I am carrying all the Budget papers. आप वदखाओ। : These are all announcements without any meaning. So, this is all cheating, hustling, befuddling. येसब िैलेंटाइन्द्स डे प्रजेंट है। सर, आप देवखए, बजट पेपसामेंएक अच्छी वपक्चर हैवक हमारा रुपया कहां सेआता है। इसमेंइनकम टैक्स 15 प्रवतित, एक्साइज ड्यूटी 7 प्रवतित, कारपोरिे न टैक्स 15 प्रवतित, जीएसटी 17 प्रवतित है। आपनेइनकम टैक्स मेंवकतनी छूट दी है? 0.1 प्रवतित । 38 हजार करोड़ रुपया इनकम टैक्स है। हमारा टोटल कलेक्िन 25 लाख करोड़ रुपयेहै, उसका1 प्रवतित है। यह कोई छूट नहीं है। आपनेक्यों बड़ेलोगों को सरचाजापर छूट दी? िह देना नहीं चावहए था, गलत वकया। This Budget is a tinkering exercise. सरकार नेदो साल पहलेएक अटल वटंकररगं लैब िरूु की थी, उसमेंथोड़ा सा इधर-उधर करतेहैं। यहबजट भी इकोनोमी को लेकर वटंकररगं करता है। Defence is only eight per cent. सवब्सडीज कम करके7 प्रवतित कर वदया, स्टेट िेयर18 प्रवतित है। एक ही अच्छा काम हुआ हैवक 50 साल के वलए स्टेट्स को 1 लाख करोड़ रुपयेका वबना इंट्रेस्ट लोन वदया हैऔर स्टेट्स को 3.5 प्रवतित वफस्कल डेवफवसट एलाऊवकयाहै। ठीक है, लेवकन यहऐसा समय ह, ैजबइंवडयन इकोनोमी स्टेबल है। This is the time to make a frontal attack on poverty, unemployment. अगर इकोनोमी स्टेबल हैतो आप गरीबों केहाथ मेंपैसा पहुंचाओ, अपना दल भीस्ट्रागूँ होगा। अनवुप्रया जी, आप भी कररए। जो क्रोनी कैवपटवलस्ट है, िह देि को लूटेगा, िह कुछ नहीं करगे ा। आपको और हमेंगरीब के साथ रहकर लड़ाई लड़ना है। इसवलए मैंइस बजट प्रस्ताि का समथान नहीं करताह ं। मैंवफर मांग करताह ं वक पवश्चम बंगाल काएनआरईजीए का रुपया अभी देना चावहए, पवश्चम बंगाल का पीएम आिास का रुपयेअभी देना चावहए और रले िेवमवनस्टर कोलकाता जाएंऔर हमारेकम्प्लीटेड प्रोजेक्ट्स को इनागरुटे कर।ें सर, मैंबहुत आभारी ह ं वक आपनेधीरज के साथ मेरा भाषण सनुा है। मैंआपको नमस्कार करता ह ं। धन्द्यिाद।
