New Delhi: The opposition on Wednesday accused the Centre of indulging in "tax terrorism", alleging that the Finance Bill should be renamed as "tax trap bill" and a "reverse Robin Hood" syndrome was prevailing under the Modi government.
Robin Hood was a legendary outlaw in English folklore who stole from the rich and gave to the poor. Participating in the debate on the Finance Bill, Trinamool Congress MP Kalyan Banerjee said there is no doubt that the country is the fastest growing economy in the world, but the poor people of India are not getting its benefits.
Banerjee said there is no clear mention about the unorganized sector in the bill and about ending the unemployment crisis. He asserted that it is very important to find a permanent solution to this problem. The TMC member said that nothing has been said about the unorganized sector in the Finance Bill, while 92 per cent of India's workers work in the unorganized sector.
"Another problem is that contractors are appointed, workers are appointed through them. When the contractor's service ends, the workers also become unemployed. Therefore, the government will have to pay attention to the employment security of the employees," he said. Banerjee said there is a shortage of 15 lakh doctors in the country and this is also a big problem on which the government will have to pay proper attention.
Describing the budget allocation for her home state West Bengal as inadequate, Banerjee said the Centre does not give the same proportion of Budget share as the tax that comes to the Centre from the states. Participating in the discussion, DMK's Kalanidhi Veerasamy also called the Central government a complete failure on the front of reducing unemployment.
He said that the Micro, Medium and Small Enterprises (MSME) sector in the country are struggling to save itself and thousands of enterprises have closed down. He reiterated his demand to the Central government to withdraw the 18 per cent GST imposed on life insurance and health insurance.
Participating in the discussion, Congress' R Sudha claimed that the Central government was not allocating its share of funds for school education in Tamil Nadu under the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan. During a debate, Congress MP Shafi Parambil and Independent MP Pappu Yadav delivered sharp critiques of the government's budget, accusing it of failing to address the needs of ordinary citizens and prioritizing corporate interests over public welfare.
Parambil launched a pointed attack on the budget, describing it as being driven by a "hunger for power" rather than addressing substantive issues. He labelled it a "kursi bachao budget", suggesting that its primary aim was to preserve political power rather than deliver real benefits. Parambil expressed frustration over the rising unemployment rate, which he noted had escalated to 9.2 per cent from 5.44 per cent in 2014.