In a scathing critique during a press conference in New Delhi on Friday, BJP MP Dr. Sudhanshu Trivedi tore into West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her Trinamool Congress government. He accused them of sidelining development, science, and industry in the state’s latest budget to disproportionately fund madrasas, clerics, and minority institutions—a move he branded as blatant appeasement politics.
Trivedi painted a stark contrast: while India surges toward new developmental heights under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership, as evident in the recent Union Budget, West Bengal under Mamata Banerjee is plunging into the abyss of vote-bank politics. He highlighted that the state budget allocates nearly 5,713 crore rupees to minorities and madrasas, dwarfing the 1,400 crore for industry and commerce, a mere 217 crore for information technology, and just 82 crore for science and research.
This is the same West Bengal that birthed scientific luminaries like Satyendra Nath Bose, Jagdish Chandra Bose, and Amal Kumar Raychaudhuri, Trivedi reminded the audience. Yet, the paltry funding for science and technology raises serious questions about the state’s priorities. He also pointed to inadequate allocations of 920 crore for North Bengal and 810 crore for West Bengal, calling them insufficient for holistic growth.
Trivedi went further, alleging provisions in the budget not just for madrasas but also for moulvis and muezzins without mandatory proof of residential or permanent addresses, compromising transparency. Citing former Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee’s 2006 statements labeling some unrecognized madrasas as hubs of anti-national activities sponsored by Pakistan’s ISI, he questioned if funding such entities endangers national security and social harmony for political gains.
The MP criticized the government’s decision to grant OBC status to 78 out of 87 Muslim sub-groups and now boosting financial aid through the budget. Referencing Mamata’s recent remarks on ‘love or fear,’ he demanded clarity on whether these funds are given willingly or under duress. Trivedi slammed the ‘Ma-Maati-Manush’ slogan as hollow, arguing the extravagant spending on one community is an injustice to Bengal’s broader populace.
Directly challenging the Chief Minister, Trivedi asked why 5,700 crore is funneled to madrasas and clerics instead of prioritizing development, science, and industry. This budget, he asserted, exemplifies the failure not just of TMC but of alliances promoting minority appeasement, urging a rethink for Bengal’s true progress.