Abhishek Banerjee-Om Birla clash in Lok Sabha over 'open challenge' remark

During today's Lok Sabha session, Speaker Om Birla and Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Abhishek Banerjee got into a heated argument on the three farm bills that have since been repealed. Speaker Birla refuted Banerjee's assertion that sufficient consultation with farmers or opposition parties was lacking when the legislation was passed.

Abhishek Banerjee charged the Center with enacting the agricultural measures without consulting important stakeholders during the debate. Speaker Birla stepped in and said that the House had discussed the matter in great detail. "Let's correct the information. The House deliberated on this issue for five and a half hours," Birla said. The Speaker vehemently disagreed with Banerjee's position notwithstanding Birla's urging.

Abhishek Banerjee's criticism also included the Union Budget, which he said was unfocused and intended more to curry favor with BJP supporters than to meet the demands of the general public. He implied that the budget was designed to help political allies, mentioning N. Chandrababu Naidu of Andhra Pradesh and Nitish Kumar of Bihar in particular. Several opposition parties agreed, pointing out that the budget was too advantageous to states that support the BJP.

Taking a dig at the BJP, Abhishek Banerjee also said the following:

• Prime Minister is on borrowed time.
• No mention of burning Manipur in the Budget.

• When a bridge collapsed in Bengal, PM said it was not an act of God, but an act of fraud. Every incident that has occurred under his rule, was it an act of God or act of fraud?

• Abhishek Banerjee's acronym for BUDGET: B for Betrayal, U for Unemployment, D for Deprived, G for Guarantee with zero warranty, E for Eccentric, T for Tragedy.
• They are saying that I'm reading from a paper, but the PM himself reads from a teleprompter.
• BJP's guarantees come with zero warranty.
• Too many rail accidents nowadays, but no mention of railway safety measures in the budget.
• The Railway Minister has blood on his hands.
• 99 per cent of black money is back in circulation.
• BJP should have had 80 women MPs under the 1/3rd reservation scheme, but they have just 31.
• I challenge the FM to release the white paper that shows how much money has been given to Bengal after BJP's humiliating defeat in the state.
• Modiji ki teesri baar, geerbo ke upar lagatar atyachar.
• BJP doesn't have a single Muslim MP/MLA in Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha or any state assembly.
• Sab ka saath, sab ka vikas becomes jo hamare saath, hum unke saath.