Kolkata, Feb 19 (PTI) BJP MLA and economist Ashok Lahiri on Wednesday questioned why large number of people from West Bengal were working as migrant labourers across the country if the joblessness rate in the state was half the national average.

Participating in a discussion in the Assembly on the budget proposals presented by the minister of state for finance (independent charge) Chandrima Bhattacharya on February 12, he said, "The TMC government should strive to compete and compare with states which are ahead of it." Maintaining that the Trinamool Congress (TMC) government had claimed, citing Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy figures, that the state's joblessness figures are "nearly half of the national figures," he asked, "Then why are we seeing a large number of migrant labourers from Bengal in other states?" "Have all those working as domestic helps, construction workers, etc., gone on a tour of the country? Lahiri asked.

He said that instead of being complacent about being ahead of a few states, the TMC government should "strive to compete and compare Bengal with those states which are ahead of it for bettering its economy." Responding to the minister's claim that the state's GSDP was projected to increase by 6.8 per cent in 2024-25, higher than the national figure of 6.3 per cent, the BJP MLA pointed out that the state's GSDP growth rate has been "lower than the national average every year since 2012-13, except in 2021-22." "Bengal's per capita income dropped to 18th position among all states at the end of Left Front rule in 2011-12. From there, in 2022-23 fiscal, it further dropped to 21st position," Lahiri claimed.

On TMC government's claim that the state's income increased "four-fold to around Rs 90,000 crore per annum from what it was at the end of the Left Front rule in 2011," he asked, "Why even after nearly 15-year rule, our income covers only 40 per cent of our annual expenditure?" Lahiri claimed that it was unfair on the part of Mamata Banerjee during her participation in the discussion on Tuesday to compare the state's debt with that of the Union government since the Centre has to take care of the country's "defence and foreign relations, etc., which are not responsibilities of a state." Maintaining that it is "exhilarating" that the recently held Bengal Global Business Summit attracted huge interest and investment proposals, he asked, "What was the outcome of the several memoranda of understanding and letters of intent signed during previous BGBS conclaves?" Speaking in support of the budget proposals, TMC MLA Debabrata Majumder said, "While the state's capital expenditure stood at 3.61 per cent of total revenue in 2011-12, it had increased to 10.40 per cent in 2023-24." He said since the Centre gets the "lion's share" of the revenue earned in the country, it is the Union government's duty to take care of the "defence and other specific requirements of the nation." Speaking on the migrant labourer issue, he said, "The Centre must answer why Indians are being sent back from the United States." Majumder asked, "Why is a super-rich tax not being imposed in India?" "West Bengal's is a people-friendly budget while that of the BJP-led Centre was that of a few rich people," the TMC MLA added.

Participating in the discussion, TMC MLA Kallol Khan thanked CM Mamata Banerjee for the allocation of Rs 500 crore in the 2025-26 budget proposals for a road bridge over river Muriganga connecting the mainland with Hindu pilgrimage site Gangasagar island in South 24 Parganas district.

BJP MLA Ambika Roy said "increase in capital outlay is a must for the economic growth of the state." "Neither the erstwhile CPI(M)-led LF government, nor the current TMC dispensation spared any thought about it," he said. PTI AMR MNB

Migrant labour: opposition questions Bengal's low unemployment claim amid visible outmigration for work. BJP criticism focused on the apparent contradiction between the state's low joblessness claim and the large number of migrant labourers working outside Bengal, questioning the accuracy of employment statistics. The critique extended to Bengal's economic indicators-GSDP growth lagging the national average and a decline in per capita income-and to fiscal concerns that state income covers only a limited share of annual expenditure, prompting scrutiny of budgetary sustainability and the outcomes of investment summit commitments.