TMC Chief Mamata Banerjee Calls Budget ‘Visionless For Bengal’; BJP Hits Back

Last Updated:February 01, 2026, 14:46 IST

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) defended the Budget, stating that allocations had been made across all sectors and accused the TMC of deliberately misinterpreting it

TMC's Abhishek Banerjee and CM Mamata Banerjee. (PTI File)

West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief Mamata Banerjee criticised the Budget presented on Sunday, calling it “visionless" and “missionless", stating it offered nothing substantial for the poll-bound state.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), however, defended the Budget, stating that allocations had been made across all sectors and accused the TMC of deliberately misinterpreting it.

Under the Purvodaya initiative, the Finance Minister proposed the development of an integrated East Coast Industrial Corridor, with a well-connected industrial node at Durgapur. The Budget also announced the creation of five tourism destinations across the five Purvodaya states and the provision of 4,000 e-buses.

A High-Speed Rail Corridor between Varanasi and Siliguri was also declared. To promote environmentally sustainable passenger transport, the government proposed developing seven high-speed rail corridors as “growth connectors," namely:

Mumbai–Pune

Pune–Hyderabad

Hyderabad–Bengaluru

Hyderabad–Chennai

Chennai–Bengaluru

Delhi–Varanasi

Varanasi–Siliguri

In addition, the government proposed new Dedicated Freight Corridors, including one connecting Dankuni in the East to Surat in the West, aimed at promoting environmentally sustainable cargo movement.

Other announcements included the upgradation of seven NIPERs (National Institutes of Pharmaceutical Education and Research), one of which is NIPER Kolkata located at Panihati. A new scheme for the jute sector was also announced, which is expected to benefit West Bengal significantly. Furthermore, the government announced the revival of 200 legacy industrial clusters, and experts believe West Bengal will be one of the biggest beneficiaries of this initiative as well.

Analysts said as this is an election year, expectations were particularly high. Both TMC’s Mamata Banerjee and Abhishek Banerjee strongly criticised the Budget, stating that it lacked vision. Mamata Banerjee also claimed that the rail corridor announced by the Centre was originally planned by her.

Addressing the media, Mamata Banerjee said, “This is a visionless, missionless Budget. It is anti-people, anti-women, and anti-tribal. The rail corridor they have declared was planned by me. Look at how the share market has fallen. This is a Humpty Dumpty Budget."

Abhishek Banerjee also reacted sharply, saying, “The BJP’s step-motherly attitude is clearly on display. In Bengal, they are losing, so the BJP is trying to teach the people of Bengal a lesson. But in a democracy, it works the other way around. In the coming polls, the people will give a befitting reply to the BJP."

BJP state president Shamik Bhattacharya said, “They are not good at hearing. Yes, the Chief Minister laid many foundation stones in the past and now claims credit for everything. I think she also launched the Chandrayaan mission."

News india TMC Chief Mamata Banerjee Calls Budget ‘Visionless For Bengal’; BJP Hits Back

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