Tag: Kalyan Banerjee

Kalyan Banerjee speaks on The Taxation Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2017

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FULL TRANSCRIPT

Sir, I do not know from whose mind it has come and it has been changed, but I give you thanks for Clause 2, that is, the extended meaning, after the words “the area of a Customs station”, the words “or a warehouse” shall be inserted. And in your objects and reasons, you said that, in Clause 3 … it is proposed to amend this again to include ‘warehouse’ in the definition of ‘customs area’ to ensure that an importer will not be required to pay the proposed integrated goods and service tax at the time of removal of goods from customs station to warehouse.

This grey area existed for a long period of time and so many interpretations have been made but today you have really clarified and have made a very definite definition and that’s the reason I feel that this part is really very good.

I would like to come to the next point, which is Clause 3, 108A. A person who is responsible for maintaining records of registration or statements of account holding, any other information – it is a liability that they have to maintain this. My second point is about the part where the proper officer considers that the information furnished under sub-section 1 is defective. I would like to know, who is the proper officer? This proper officer has not been defined. You cannot appoint a ‘proper officer’ according to your wish and terms, by any notification.

So far, you have given a chance of giving a reply to them, in case of any defect. But so far 108B is concerned, where you have imposed that if you fail to give the information to the proper officer, every day they have to pay a fine of only Rs 100, which, according to me, a lesser punishment. The punishment should be increased. Why would an authority specified under 108A (1) be failing to discharge statutory duties? If someone fails to discharge statutory duties, that person should be penalised more. All high-ranking officers have been defined under 108 (a) and they are been paid by the State Exchequer, so should they be committing any delay? If they delay, why should there be only a Rs 100 penalty? Why should you not start disciplinary proceedings against them? Why should they not be liable? The officer should give the information immediately. If the penalty is not increased, nobody would be aware of the implications of these statutory things. The officers are bound to do it.

Now, I point out to you the Central Excise Act, as far as Clause 8 is concerned, where the Section A has been amended and Section Survey inserted; wherein, in respect of any goods, if the Central Government is satisfied that the duty to be levied under Section 3 may be increased and that circumstances exist to render immediate action. I say this is an excessive delegation. There cannot be arbitrary exercise of power. In law it is said that absolute power corrupts absolutely. Now, why should you give such an unlimited power, unlimited discretionary power? What are the objective determinations behind the purpose of that? This part gives excessive power, excessive delegatory power, and hence is capable to be abused. Now, so far this part is concerned – Part 3 (b) (i) – this, according to us, gives excessive delegatory power. This should not be there. We are all for constructive criticism; but we are not as such opposing the Bill.

Sir, we understand, this is the Bill and it is the consequential one; these four Bills which have been given in the list, and these Bills are needed. Despite our objections and our Amendments, we have to accept whatever is there, excepting a few things which I have pointed out, and I hope the Hon. Minister of State, who is here, will take care of the points which I have said. You have to understand what the stark reality is at the ground-level. The stark reality is the power with the Central Excise officers, the customs officers, police, etc. If you give them absolute power, with no restrictions, then that power will be abused. Therefore, I request you to keep some safeguards there. One who has committed a fault should be penalised. In my speech I have said so. However, no officer should arbitrarily exercise power. Kindly keep this safeguard in mind.

With this I end my speech.

 

 

Kalyan Banerjee asks a Supplementary Question on tidal wave energy

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FULL TRANSCRIPT

There is tremendous scope for the energy from the ocean as we have a long coastline of more than about 7,500 km and 336 islands in the Bay of Bengal and in Arabian Sea. Scientists of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) have done a few successful pilot projects on marine, tidal and wave mechanical energy projects.

Presently the Central Government wants to set up tidal power plants with economic potential in the Gulf of Cambay, the Gulf of Kutch and the Durgaduani region in the Sunderbans in the Ganges Delta.

My question, through you, Madam, is whether the Government has a proper institutional policy framework and adequate infrastructure with proposals  for funding to achieve the success in the tidal water power sector.

Kalyan Banerjee speaks on GST Bills in Lok Sabha

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Sir, I am grateful that you have given me the chance to speak with respect of the GST Bill. Sir, West Bengal fought hard to preserve and protect cooperative federalism in the process of the formulation of the GST. It also fought uncompromisingly on fiscal autonomy of all states of the nation on matters of GST. This was the hallmark of West Bengal that is so visible in many parts of the Bills presented to us in the Parliament.

As Chairman of the Empowered Committee, the West Bengal Finance Minister was instrumental in bringing about a broad consensus amongst states on single control in the hands of the State below Rs 1.5 crore turnover of small business in its meeting in the great city Calcutta many months ago. I believe the honourable Union Finance Minister Mr Jaitley was a witness to this consensus amongst States that had not been seen even before. Such was a seminal role played by West Bengal in protecting cooperative federalism and fiscal autonomy of the states at many such occasions in the course of formulation of this GST Bill.

Our leader and the present Chief Minister of the State of West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee, had in-principle supported the concept of GST as early as 2009 in our party-manifesto. The idea was to usher in a strong and cohesive indirect tax regime that creates a single market for all trade and industry that is beneficial for the common man and small traders and enterprises.

A draft GST Bill was circulated in the month of September, 2016 which had many clauses that were not in the fullest interest of the States, common man and small traders and enterprises. But, through the deliberations of the GST Council, a number of ideas were thrashed out and I believe West Bengal engaged uncompromisingly in a spirit of cooperative federalism and fiscal autonomy of the States.

West Bengal took the lead and ensured that the Constitution Amendment on GST incorporates the commitment of the Central Government to give full compensation to the States on account of any loss due to GST for a period of five years. The Compensation Act has also been design keeping in mind the mandate of the 122nd amendment of the Constitution and this will ensure that no State in the country will suffer any financial loss due to GST.

Our state has always stood up for the marginalised and needy, small traders and manufacturers who provide the bulk of the employment; the industrial sector have been given due regard in the new GST Law. In this spirit, West Bengal pushed hard for the GST threshold to be raised to Rs 20 lakh turnover. So that small and tiny business are kept out of the purview of the GST.

A composition scheme has also been offered for small traders and manufacturers upto an annual turnover of Rs 50 lakh. This composition scheme for manufacturers is a new feature that will help protect small and new manufacturers, specially in the MSME sector. West Bengal stood firm on this new feature which will benefit lakhs of small businesses and make tax compliance much easier.

Additionally, in order to ensure least disturbance and to provide a single interface so that the assessee does not have to face more than one authority, the concept of cross-empowerment has been introduced in the law. The State Governments and the Central Government will empower the officers of the other Governments, under the respective Acts, the assessee has to go to only one office and deal with only one authority. Apart from this, in order to ensure that small traders do not face any problems in working with the new law, 90 per cent of the assessees of both goods and services below a turnover of Rs 1.5 crore have been kept exclusively with the State Governments.

The purpose of GST was to get rid of multiplicity of taxes and the related cascading effect and to unify different taxes into a single entity. Firstly, the ill-effects of inflation can be scuttled to a large extent. Adding to this, this removal of multiple tax structures means a reduction in the cost of compliance, the benefit of which should finally pass down to the consumer.

The entire structure of GST has been created on the premise that the common man must benefit from the unification of taxes, and therefore it is necessary that the rate structures of different goods and services are adjusted so as to reduce inflation and also the prices of goods of mass consumption, so that the average Indian benefits from this path-breaking enactment.

Another important benefit of the new Goods and Services Tax is the boost to ease of doing business. A common law and standardised treatment of taxable entities with the special feature of full set of tax liability incurred being transferrable throughout the nation means that businesses do not have to think in terms of sales and can compete on cost-effective and competitive products that can compete in international markets and benefit the common man at the same time. It is expected that such a major reform in the structure of indirect taxation will not only help curb inflation but will also have a very positive effect on the growth of GDP. It is hoped the one country-one tax regime will result in growth in all sectors boosting both rural and urban economies in this nation.

Having said so, even then, we have concerns in a few areas which I would now like to point out.

Number one: while the spirit of, and the law on GST is sound, with both the States and the Centre having played a role in ensuring that a sound legislation is in place, there are still some areas of concern as far as the implementation is concerned.

Number two: considering the scale of the reform, it is imperative that sufficient time be given to build up the structures required to ensure the proper implementation of the GST law, we should not rush through the preparation as that is bound to give rise to small but crucial errors which may hamper the implementation of the law. We need to look at the experiences of other nations and learn from the mistakes made there so that we can implement the law in a proper manner.

Number three: another area of concern is the rate structure itself. The process of treatment of rates for different goods and services is yet to be started. Unless the industry is informed about the rates and sufficient time is given, it will not be possible for them to modify their ERPs and systems well in time to meet the deadlines. Therefore it is necessary that the rate treatment process be completed quickly so that industry in general has reasonable time to prepare.

Number four: another area of concern is the preparation of the GST Network – the GSTN. The GSTN is the core system which links all the States and the Centre with the assessees and is pivotal to the implementation of this goods and services tax system. This is one system that cannot afford to fail as its failure will lead to a collapse of the entire indirect tax system of the nation. Therefore it is necessary to get all the models of the GSTN prepared and tested  as quickly as possible so that the assessees and the industries have enough time to train up their personnel to gear up their systems.

A completely e-based indirect taxation system means that even the smallest player has to be on board without which the input tax credit (ITC) chain and linkage will be lost. The small businesses must be given adequate time to adapt themselves to this completely new system.

This is a complex fiscal reform. State and Centre together in a federal polity must take appropriate quantum of time which will be sustainable and successful. I will request the Hon. Finance Minister, through you, that we should not rush for this. Look into the defects once again. Do not rush for July 1 deadline. We have time till September 1. The arenas which have been discussed still have lacunae; errors are there which may make it difficult for implementation. These arenas should be covered and discussed and necessary amendments should be brought.

Overall the goods and service tax enactments are set to usher in an area of a higher compliance, efficient taxation, reduce inflation and better growth. It is important that the implementation is also made by both Centre and State in the true spirit of cooperative federalism helping build the nation together. That should be the spirit. No one should ask for only credit, we have all done this together.
Thank you, Sir.

 

Kalyan Banerjee asks a Supplementary Question on speedy disposal of cases

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FULL TRANSCRIPT

Madam, through you I want to remind the Hon. Law Minister that I supported your (National Judicial Appointments) Bill and five times you gave me thanks in your speech. But the point is that we have the power of legislate but the final interpreter of the Constitution is Supreme Court of India and we have to accept it.

Now Supreme Court has declared the Bill as ultra-vires I am not at all saying that the Hon. Prime Minister or Hon. Chief Minister or Hon. Law Minister should not have anything to say about that. But today this is the country’s problem, this have to be resolved.

You have appointed 126 persons. I agree with that. But at the same time you tell me how many retirements have happened during this year? It is more than 150 or 180. In our High Court there is 50% vacancy. Therefore, I want to ask the Hon. Law Minister what is the recourse you have now taken to resolve the problem and to fill up the all vacancies of the High Courts?

 

Kalyan Banerjee asks a Supplementary Question on skill development of women

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Madam, through you, I want to say that this job (skill development) is very laudable one and you are also putting in a lot of effort. I must appreciate that. Very recently, two weeks back, in my constituency at Dankuni, you have launched one project and I was invited there. I was very happy to see that.

While delivering his speech, the representative of the National Skill Development Corporation who was there made a categorical statement to the effect that those who will get the training and get the certificate, everyone will be given employment.

My question, through you, is whether this statement is correct? All those who get certificates from skill centres, will they be given employment? If that is so, how many persons have got these certificates and how many persons got employment?

Kalyan Banerjee speaks on The Admiralty (Jurisdiction & Settlement of Maritime Claims) Bill, 2016

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Thank you Madam for allowing me to speak on The Admiralty (Jurisdiction & Settlement of Maritime Claims) Bill, 2016. Firstly, I must point out that I respectfully disagree with the statements made by the Hon’ble Minister. The Minister while making the statement said the Bill is also covering the environmental issues. I am sorry, Sir. Under clause 4 this is not the scope. You have also referred to that in case of leakage of oil etc. This will come within the purview of this. Therefore, I respectfully disagree with the statement made by him in respect of two issues.

This Act was necessary for long rather I say it is unfortunate that although Supreme Court in 1992 directed the Central Government to come up with a law which will fulfill the need of the day, when 151 reports of the Law Commission were existing. But unfortunately from 1992 to 2016, no one paid any heed to the circumstances. Today it is needed and therefore I am not opposing, as far as the substance of the Bill is concerned.

Madam, I will just mention two or three things. The claim which is required to be decided by the High Court by reason of this enactment of the Act, itself has been codified under Clause 4. The jurisdictions have been said there.

Clause 2, Sub Clause K, states “territorial water shall have the same meaning as assigned to it in the ‘Territorial Waters, Continental Shelf, Exclusive Economic Zone and other Maritime Zones Act, 1976’. You have incorporated a provision and that is a vague provision. Which High Court has the jurisdiction on the sea itself?

I have an experience being a Lawyer; we had a dispute with the Odisha Government in respect of territorial water. However, both the Hon CMs discussed and resolved the problem and it is now working very good. I will point out to the Honourable Minister, kindly clarify this, this Bill is bringing another area where more interpretation is required to be done by the Court. You have to clarify and clear it.

Clause 17 Sub Clause 2, “shall not withstand the appeal of admiralty proceedings pending in the High Court immediately before the commencement of the Act, shall continue to be adjudicated by such High Court in accordance with the provisions of this Act.”

What does it mean? Firstly, “shall continue to be adjudicated by such High Court” – if you have said it is alright. The moment you are saying with accordance of the provisions of the Act, there is no clarity in this section. Will Kolkata will go to Odisha, or any other places will go to another? If a proceeding is pending in the High Court, will it continue in the High Court? Then the language of the statute needs to be made clear. You are creating a confusion by saying that before the commencement of the Act, it will continue to be adjudicated by such High Court in accordance with the providence of this Act.

Now I want to make a point to the nation its self. A national problem has emerged. You are giving the jurisdiction to the High Court to decide but do you know how many vacancies are there in the High Courts? How will they take the load? Not a single High Court is in a position to function.

Why you are not fulfilling the vacancies? The National Judicial Appointments Bill was passed here. Ultimately the Supreme Court declared it ultra vires; we have to accept this. We cannot have any ego on that. Neither the legislature nor the executive can have any ego with the judiciary. This has to be sorted out. If there is an ego with the judiciary regarding the filling of the vacancies kindly fill it up.

My suggestion to you (also it is a very difficult job for you) is that the territorial water jurisdiction has to be identified. Now it is not much difficult because of the new mechanisms like satellite etc.

You have to identify the part about water belonging to West Bengal and Odisha. If you identify that part you will find the question regarding the jurisdiction by the court that would be lesser and easier job. In the future if you will try to do it will be great helpful. This is my suggestion. With this I give you thanks. This Bill has been long pending since 1992. Let it be passed. There is no difficulty. With this I conclude.

Thank you.

 

India will muddle through another year of hopes belied and aspirations unfulfilled: Trinamool on Union Budget

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During a discussion on the Union Budget, Kalyan Banerjee (Lok Sabha) and Sukhendu Sekhar Roy (Rajya Sabha) spoke on behalf of the party.

Both of them cornered the government on the declining economy, lack of jobs, black money, demonetisation and failed promises of the government.

 

Lok Sabha

Chief Whip of Trinamool in the Lok Sabha, Kalyan Banerjee said that India will muddle through another year of hopes belied and aspirations unfulfilled. He called the Budget controversial and said it does not provide any roadmap for the future.

He asked the government why the cost and ‘benefits’ of demonetisation were not being shared. He wanted to know from the Finance Minister how much black money has been receovered post demonetisation.

On the effect of demonetisation, Kalyan Banerjee said, “The supply chain of leather industry in Bengal is in shambles. So is jute, tea, textile, handloom and handicrafts. Fact remains that Moradabad, Ferozabad, Meerut known worldwide for their glass bangles and sports goods are in miserable shape with maximum units closed. The unorganised sector of India provides 80 percent of jobs and demonetisation has destroyed that.”

Accusing the govt of playing jugglery with words he stated that private sector investment has declined over the last three financial years. “Investors are ineligible or unwilling to borrow and banks are unable to lend. Therefore credit growth to all industries is at all time low and turned negative in October, 2016,” he added.

On government’s penchant for cashless society, he had to say: “This year there has been very good cultivation, but the farmers are not able to sell their crops due to non-availability of cash. You may speak about the cashless society, but you cannot change a 70 year old system with the stroke of a pen overnight. We support cashless, but not in one day or two days, it will take time. Our rural economy is based on cash flows, we cannot shut our eyes to the reality.”

He said demonetisation has destroyed the rural economy: “The Budget has given credit to farmers, which will never reach them because 92 percent villages have no bank in India. The government’s demonetisation policy have already destroyed the cooperative system by not providing them cash which is the mainstay of farmers for credit.”

Full transcript of his speech

 

Rajya Sabha

Chief Whip of the party in Rajya Sabha, Sukhendu Sekhar Roy said the Budget speech is full of rhetoric and the figures of increase in allocation are deceptive. He said, “ Export has lost momentum. Budget has no word on how the situation can be combated. Nothing has been said on the mounting NPAs over the years.”

He added that people are tired of hearing the growth story. He cited that India accounts for 1 in 3 people living below international poverty line. 800 million lndians live on 1.8$ per day and we talk of growth figures. More than 60% of the wealth is in the hands of only 1% people.”

Puncturing the government’s claims on FDI he said it is alarming that FIIs are constantly selling in equity and fixed income market since November 8, 2016 (when demonetisation was announced). He accused the ruling party of knowing in advance about demonetisation; that is why they bought hundreds of acres of land across States in cash, he added.

“People are suffering due to demonetisation. But government has no answer as to how much black money has been recovered and how much fake currency has been seized,” SS Roy said. “Workers in informal sector, plantation labourers, small traders, MSME – all have been destroyed,” he added.

Sukhendu Sekhar Roy wanted to know from the Finance Minister under which provisions of law were limits of cash withdrawal put in place. He said while ATMs still do not have cash, the Finance Minister claims there was no cash crunch for a single day in the last three months.

Reminding the BJP of their electoral promise of doubling the income of farmers, he wanted to know how much profit farmers have made in the last 2.5 years. He also said the BJP’s promise of bringing back black money from abroad was a jumla.

On electoral reforms, SS Roy said that Trinamool has always demanded state funding of polls through Election Commission. He said the measures introduced by the Finance Minister (capping of donations at Rs 2000 and introduction of electoral bonds) would not serve any purpose and were aimed at helping big parties at the cost of smaller parties.

Full transcript of his speech

 

Kalyan Banerjee speaks in the Lok Sabha on the Union Budget | FULL TRANSCRIPT

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Respected Speaker Madam, we are opposing the speech of Budget 2017-2018. Our leader and the Hon’ble Chief Minister of West Bengal Mamata Banerjee gave her reaction on the Budget. I start my speech quoting her: “A controversial budget 2017 which is clueless, useless, baseless, mission less, action less. Heartless”.

Fortunately, I had the privilege to work with our Hon’ble Finance Minister in few matters as his junior. But I have never seen him as heartless as earlier which has been done in the Budget speech.

The Budget does not reflect any road map for the country or for the future. The present government has lost all credibility by reason of number of steps including demonetisation that affected public at large of this country.

There is jugglery of words and figures in the Budget. The biggest failure of the government is that the Budget is silent in respect of costs and benefits of demonetisation. The Hon’ble Finance Minister did not give any figure in the Budget speech on two points.

One is how much black money has been extinguished. Second is how much the exercise cost the nation. The Budget has neglected primary education, ICDS and nutrition projects. The Budget also did not speak that how much amount of black money is lying in foreign banks.

In other words there is not a single word about offshore accounts in the Budget. The Budget speech demonstrates a clear admission of the government that private investment is in the doldrums.

In 2015-16, the Government has created 1.5 lakh jobs which is far short from their promises of creating two crore jobs in a year. Gross fixed capital formation (GFCF) is a widely-used measure for accounting for private investment. According to the Economic Survey, growth of GFCF in financial year 2014 was 4.9 per cent; in financial year 2015 it was 3.9% and in financial year 2016 was – 0.2 per cent. This is how much it has come down.

Micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) are the low-cost producers and job-creators. Demonetisation has forced nearly 80 per cent of MSMEs to close down. Most MSMEs are not companies. They are proprietorships or partnerships. From 5.97 lakh to 6.9 4 lakh companies file income tax returns, and amongst them, only 2.85 lakh make profits. Cutting the corporate tax rate for MSMEs from 30 per cent to 24 per cent will therefore benefit only 2.74 lakh MSMEs. If the taxable income is modest the benefits are also modest. It will do nothing to increase sales or create new jobs.

On the other hand, if excise duties or service tax were cut, it would have boosted demand and revived the many MSMEs that have shut down. Deputy Speaker Sir, almost 12 lakh power looms of Maharashtra have been closed down. The diamond industry in Gujarat, due to demonetisation, is in such a bad shape that Bengali diamond-cutters have been forced to return to their State (that is, West Bengal). Workers have returned from Gujarat, Kerala and Mumbai due to demonetisation and the industries have closed down.

The supply chain of leather industry in Bengal is in shambles. So is jute, tea, textile, handloom and handicrafts. Fact remains that Moradabad, Ferozabad, Meerut known worldwide for their glass bangles and sports goods are in miserable shape with maximum units closed.

The unorganised sector of India provides 80 percent of jobs and demonetisation has destroyed that. It is unfortunate Hon. Finance Minister that there is not a single sentence in your speech in respect of the unorganised sector; it fully establishes the Govt’s heartless attitude towards the unorganised sector itself.

The Budget has given credit to farmers, which will never reach them because 92 percent villages have no bank in India. The government’s demonetisation policy have already destroyed the cooperative system by not providing them cash which is the mainstay of farmers for credit.

Now the government is playing jugglery of words. While you have given some tax relief somewhere, you have quietly put some surcharges somewhere else. We can understand very well that when you are giving with one hand and taking away with the other also. It is shocking that when the NPAs of banks have reached Himalayan heights (Rs 6 lakh crore), the Budget has allocated only Rs 10,000 crore only for capitalisation of banks. This is really a cruel joke for the banking sector.

Investors are ineligible or unwilling to borrow and banks are unable to lend. Therefore credit growth to all industries is at all time low and turned negative in October, 2016. Let us look at the NPA situation of the Public Sector; let me give a few figures.

As on March 31, 2014, gross NPA was 4.5%. on March 31, 2015, it was 4.6%. On March 31, 2016, it was 7.8%. And on December 31, 2016 it was 9.1%. As on March 31, 2014, loan accounts that were performing have become Non-Performing Assets under this present government.

Budget 2017-18 has not given any benefit to people of any class of this country. There are only big words about the poor people, farmers, of people of remote areas. I also come from rural area and represent rural people.

This year there has been very good cultivation, but the farmers are not able to sell their crops due to non-availability of cash. You may speak about the cashless society, but you cannot change a 70 year old system with the stroke of a pen overnight. We support cashless, but not in one day or two days, it will take time. Our rural economy is based on cash flows, we cannot shut our eyes to the reality.

Therefore Deputy Speaker Sir, the Budget 2017-18 will be remembered for not extending benefits to the people of this country, and it will be remembered as a damage control Budget. India will muddle through another year hopes belied and aspirations unfulfilled.

With this I am ending my speech. Thank you Sir.  

 

 

 

Kalyan Banerjee speaks on the issue of threat to Trinamool leaders by BJP functionaries

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FULL TRANSCRIPT

Madam, yesterday in a public meeting the BJP leaders, including the observer of BJP in West Bengal, had said all leaders of Trinamool Congress will be arrested by CBI and will land up in Bhubaneshwar jail. He also said that West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will be arrested. How can BJP and Narendra Modi misuse the CBI for political vendetta? We are protesting strongly. We protest against the misuse of CBI for political vendetta. Jo humse takrayega, chur chur ho jayega.

 

 

 

 

 

Country facing financial emergency due to demonetisation: Kalyan Banerjee in LS

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Chief Whip of Trinamool Congress in Lok Sabha, Kalyan Banerjee today cornered the government on the issue of demonetisation. During a discussion on the Motion of Thanks on President’s Address, he said the country is facing financial emergency due to demonetisation.

Kalyan Banerjee said that restrictions on withdrawing money violate Article 300 (A) of Constitution of India. Maintaining that Trinamool is not against curbing black money, Kalyan Banerjee demanded to know how much black money has been recovered after demonetisation and how much was brought back from abroad.

“Unemployment increased to 7% in the week following demonetisation and 25 crore daily wage workers lost their employment. 150 people have lost their lives. Cooperative banks were not allowed to exchange demonetised notes. The poorest of the poor take loans from cooperative banks not nationalised banks. Farmers do not have money to buy seeds and fertilizers. They are unable to sell their products. There has been 8% reduction in sales of two wheelers, 18.66% reduction in sales of four-wheelers,” he said.

On the issue of women empowerment, Kalyan Banerjee said that while the Centre allocated only Rs 200 crore for the entire country under Beti Bachao Beti Padhao scheme, Bengal government, under the leadership of Mamata Banerjee, allocated Rs 1000 crore for Kanyashree. He also urged the government to bring the Women’s Reservation Bill.

Kalyan Banerjee slammed the govt on the issue of federalism. He asked under what provisions of law was the Centre bypassing the States. He accused the present Prime Minister of India of acting as an autocrat and taking away powers of the States. He also wanted to know how much money is being spent by the government for publicity.

Calling ‘Digital India’ only a slogan, Kalyan Banerjee said most areas do not have proper mobile networks. He said the minister must prepare the infrastructure before coining slogans. He reminded the government that only slogan-baazi will not solve problems.

The MP also said that year after year tall promises are made in the President’s speech but they are not met.