TMC accuses Finance Minister Sitharaman of 'misleading' Rajya Sabha about West Bengal

New Delhi, Dec 4 (PTI) Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha Deputy Leader Sagarika Ghose on Thursday alleged that Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman "misled" the Rajya Sabha about West Bengal during her reply to the discussion on the Central Excise (Amendment) Bill, 2025.

Sitharaman on Thursday lashed out at the Mamata Banerjee-led West Bengal government, accusing it of hurting the growth of the state despite the Centre's full support.

Speaking to the media in the Parliament complex after staging a walkout from the Rajya Sabha over the minister's reply, Ghose called it the "murder of democracy".

"Today, what we have witnessed in the Rajya Sabha is a murder of Constitutional democracy, a murder of parliamentary democracy. In her reply to the discussion on the Central Excise Amendment Bill 2025, the honourable finance minister repeatedly misled the House about Bengal, repeatedly made unsubstantiated, unauthenticated statements about Bengal," Ghose alleged.

She also said TMC's floor leader Derek O'Brien wanted to raise a 'point of order', which was not allowed.

A 'point of order' is a request by a member of Parliament to draw the chair's attention to a perceived violation of parliamentary rules or procedure.

"We saw that our floor leader repeatedly tried to raise 'points of order'. He repeatedly tried to raise a 'point of order' regarding the proceedings. Our floor leader, Mr Derek O'Brien, was repeatedly ignored by the chair," she said.

"The point of order was not taken up. This is an insult to Parliament. It is an insult to the entire proceedings of Parliament," she said.

"Today, what we have seen on the floor of the House is nothing but a cold-blooded, horrific murder of constitutional democracy and of democracy and a dishonouring of Parliament, an attempt to defame Bengal, an attempt to insult Bengal, an attempt to insult the people of Bengal, to murder constitutional democracy," she said.

Replying to a discussion on the Central Excise (Amendment) Bill, 2025 in the Rajya Sabha, the minister said West Bengal has never been ignored by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government.

"In fact, it is the TMC government that is hurting the growth of the people of West Bengal," she said in response to issues raised by TMC members.

She said West Bengal withdrew from the Ayushman Bharat scheme in January 2019, and questioned, "Is that good for the people of Bengal?" Sitharaman further said that industries are leaving West Bengal.

A party leader, meanwhile, said they are considering taking "serious action", and they would write to the Rajya Sabha chairman about it. PTI AO MNK MNK