"Institutionalised Corruption": Finance Minister's Big Attack On Trinamool

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday lashed out at the ruling West Bengal dispensation saying Trinamool has become a by-word for exploitation and the party has institutionalised corruption.

Stating that there is rampant corruption in MGNREGA and PM Awas Yojana in the Trinamool Congress-ruled state and its cadre has been thriving at the cost of the common man, Nirmala Sitharaman wondered whether Trinamool has now become grassroots Virodhi.

"It is ironical that Trinamool Congress, a party which prides itself on being rooted in the grassroots (Trinamool), now symbolises harassment and denial of rights to the people living at the grassroots," she said in the Lok Sabha amid constant interruption by TMC members.

Replying to the debate on Union Budget 2025-26, she said, TMC has charged us with financial blockade allegations.

"Like every other states, PM Awas Yojana is being implemented since 2016-17. The government has released Rs 25,798 crore towards central share. However, complaints of irregularities in PM Awas Yojana (Gramin) including selection of ineligible households were received," she said.

There have been similar complaints about MNREGA and the Ministry of Rural Development is engaging with West Bengal for satisfactory reply, she said. As many as 25 lakh fake job cards in MNREGA, funds meant for people at the grassroots have been looted by TMC cadres, she said.

"Trinamool Congress has institutionalised corruption, gutted institutions and Trinamool has become a by-word for exploitation," she said.

Citing other examples of corruption, she said, Rs 100 crore Mid-Day Meal fraud has taken place.

Talking about the poor health of West Bengal's economy, she said capital formation has crashed from 6.7 per cent in 2010 to 2.9 per cent in recent years - a direct result of your hostility to investment.

As a result, she said, the state has no jobs, no factories, no vision. Once India's industrial powerhouse (24 per cent share of industrial production in 1947), she said, Bengal is now far behind in manufacturing at 3.5 per cent share in 2021.

Bengal's per capita income growth lags national averages for 20 years and ranked 23rd in 2021-22, she said.

Speaking about various projects undertaken by the Union government for West Bengal, Nirmala Sitharaman said AIIMS Kalyani inaugurated in West Bengal in February 2024, a record allocation of Rs 13,955 crore for rail infrastructure and Indian Railways' first Gati Shakti Cargo Terminal commissioned in Asansol Division.

Besides, she said, the Union government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi constructed 38 km metro line since 2014 at a cost of Rs 23,050 crore and over 2,309 km of National Highway constructed in West Bengal since 2014.

In August 2024, she said, the CCEA approved the development of New Civil Enclave at Bagdogra Airport, Siliguri, West Bengal at an estimated cost of Rs 1,549 crore.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)