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.
He questioned the effectiveness of the government's proposal to create 20,000 internships annually through 500 corporations, arguing that such measures are insufficient to address the unemployment crisis. Parambil condemned what he referred to as "tax terrorism", accusing the government of being overly favourable to the corporates while neglecting the needs of the poor and middle class. He concluded by warning that this approach would ultimately lead to the government's removal from power.
Echoing these concerns, Yadav criticized the government's promise of creating two crore jobs as unfulfilled, questioning when these promises would materialize. Yadav also criticized the government's taxation policies on essential medicines, arguing that they disproportionately burden the ordinary citizens.
He demanded a special economic package for Bihar, emphasizing the need for concrete support rather than empty promises. Shiromani Akali Dal MP Harsimrat Badal said the Finance Bill should be renamed as "tax trap bill" because it is a trap, which engulfs everybody in it.
"If you earn money you pay tax, if you spend money, you pay tax, if you save or invest money, you pay tax, if you pay tax then also you have to pay tax in form of cess. When young or older, rich or poor, everyone has been trapped in the tax, why it should be called finance bill," she said. "It should be called tax trap bill which traps 140 crore Indians and does not spare anyone but the bill is definitely very kind to the corporates," she alleged.
Taxing life and health insurance is nothing less than "tax terrorism" she added. Slamming the government, Vishal Prakashbapu Patil, an Independent MP from Sangli in Maharashtra, said they sit in North Block and open a dictionary and whatever word they come up, they name a tax with that and start imposing it.
"We used to listen Robinhood stories during childhood but here a reverse Robinhood is going on," he said. Participating in the discussion, AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi said that GST should be removed from the premiums of health and life insurance. The MP from Hyderabad claimed that the allocation for welfare schemes has been reduced.
Referring to the contribution of many Muslim freedom fighters, he said that today a bill is being brought by the totalitarian government to take over the Waqf property in the country and "we condemn it".
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