As Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman rose to present the budget, the opposition showed some aggression by rushing to the well of the Lok Sabha, demanding a statement on the deaths in a stampede at the Kumbh congregation at Prayagraj and later, was stunned into silence as the finance minister announced zero income tax for those with an annual income of Rs 12 lakh. Later, Prime Minister Narendra Modi led the treasury-bench members in thumping the desks enthusiastically as Sitharaman announced the tax proposals and chants of "Modi, Modi" reverberated in the Lok Sabha chamber as the opposition watched in silence.
As Nirmala Sitharam presented her eighth budget on Saturday, here is how the opposition reacted to the announcements.
Rahul Gandhi slammed the Union Budget as a "band-aid for bullet wounds," saying that the Centre was "bankrupt of ideas".
A band-aid for bullet wounds!
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) February 1, 2025
Amid global uncertainty, solving our economic crisis demanded a paradigm shift.
But this government is bankrupt of ideas.
He said solving the economic crisis demanded a paradigm shift.
"A band-aid for bullet wounds! Amid global uncertainty, solving our economic crisis demanded a paradigm shift," Gandhi said in a post on X
The Congress earlier criticised the Union Budget as bereft of cure to "illnesses" of stagnant real wages, lack of buoyancy in mass consumption, sluggish rates of private investment, and a complicated GST system that the economy is suffering from.
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It also accused the Narendra Modi government of appearing to offer "bonanza" to Bihar, governed by NDA ally Nitish Kumar, and "cruelly" ignoring Andhra Pradesh, another pillar of the same alliance.
AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal said he was disappointed that his suggestion to end loan waiver for billionaires and spend the saved money on the middle class and farmers was not met in the Union Budget. Kejriwal in a post on X said a large portion of the public exchequer is spent on these waivers.
"I am disappointed this was not done," he said in the post.
Tamil Nadu's ruling DMK on Saturday dubbed the Union Budget as aimed at getting political mileage in states like poll-bound Bihar and said the income tax exemption does not encourage savings.
DMK spokesperson TKS Elangovan said the Budget appeared to be aimed at certain states. The last budget made generous allocations to Bihar and Andhra Pradesh and states including Tamil Nadu were ignored, he alleged.
"This time round, since the election is due in Bihar this year, they are targeting Bihar and announcing schemes for that state in the Budget itself. I have doubts if the BJP is doing this to come to power in Bihar (on its own); defeat Nithish Kumar," Elangovan told PTI.
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Telangana Congress president B Mahesh Kumar Goud alleged that the union budget 2025-26 did "grave injustice" to the state. Though Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy and his cabinet colleagues made several representations to the Centre on matters concerning the state, the central government has not addressed pending issues, including the establishment of a steel plant, IIM, and other assurances made to Telangana during the bifurcation of undivided Andhra Pradesh, MLC Goud said, in a release.
It is unjustified that the BJP discriminates against the state simply because a Congress government is in office, he alleged.
Noting that Telangana contributes Rs 40,000 crore to the Centre through GST, the Congress leader said the state should at least receive funds accordingly.
Meanwhile, Congress and CPI(M) MPs from Kerala termed it as a "disappointment"
Congress MP Rajmohan Unnithan welcomed the tax exemption on incomes upto Rs 12 lakh, but said that apart from that the budget was "a disappointment". He said that there was no mention of the allocation of funds for the various states and will have to wait for the discussions on the budget to get clarity on the issue. Unnithan also said that just like in the budget of 2024, the present one also gave priority to the states of Andhra Pradesh and Bihar as appeasing them was important for the survival of the present BJP-led government.
"They (BJP) were hoping for over 400 seats, but got only 240. So, they are giving priority to Andhra Pradesh and Bihar," he told a TV channel in New Delhi. He was referring to the present BJP-ruled government managing to retain power through the support of Andhra Pradesh CM Chandrababu Naidu and Bihar CM Nitish Kumar.
CPI(M) MP John Brittas too expressed disappointment with the budget, saying that just like last year, there was no mention of Kerala in it. He also said, while speaking to reporters in the national capital, that the Union government was trying to create a big impression by intervening in the problems of just two per cent of the income tax payers.
Jharkhand's ruling JMM on Saturday claimed that the Union Budget has nothing for the tribal state as the state and its people were "neglected completely" by the Centre."Nothing has been proposed for Jharkhand in the budget. The neighbouring Bihar has been given many projects but Jharkhand and its people have been neglected completely, JMM spokesperson Manoj Pandey said.
Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati on Saturday said that the BJP government's Budget, like that of the Congress previously, seems to be more about political interests and less about the people and the country.
1.देश में महंगाई, गरीबी, बेरोजगारी की जबरदस्त मार के साथ ही सड़क, पानी, शिक्षा, सुख-शान्ति आदि की जरूरी बुनियादी सुविधाओं के अभाव के कारण लगभग 140 करोड़ की भारी जनसंख्या वाले भारत में लोगों का जीवन काफी त्रस्त है, जिसका केन्द्रीय बजट के माध्यम से भी निवारण होना जरूरी।
— Mayawati (@Mayawati) February 1, 2025
In a post on X in Hindi, Mayawati said, "Due to the tremendous impact of inflation, poverty, and unemployment in the country, along with lack of basic amenities like roads, water, and education, people's lives in India which has a huge population of about 140 crore are quite troubled, which needed to be resolved through the Union Budget."
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Trinamool Congress leader Abhishek Banerjee on Saturday claimed that the Union Budget 2025-26 has "nothing" for West Bengal, alleging that the state continues to remain "deprived" under the BJP-led NDA rule at the Centre.
Banerjee, the TMC national general secretary, who was talking to reporters in Delhi after the budget presentation in Parliament, said several announcements were made for Bihar as the assembly elections there are due later this year.
