The Congress on Sunday criticised the Union Budget 2026 presented in the Lok Sabha by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, describing it as “completely insipid.”
In a post on X, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said the Budget failed to live up to the hype surrounding it and alleged a lack of transparency in the finance minister’s speech.
"While the documents need to be studied in detail, it is clear after 90 mins that Budget 2026/27 falls woefully short of the hype that was generated about it. It was totally lacklustre. The speech was also non-transparent since it gave no idea whatsoever of budgetary allocations for key programmes and schemes," he said.
हालाँकि दस्तावेज़ों का विस्तार से अध्ययन किया जाना अभी बाकी है, लेकिन 90 मिनट बाद ही यह स्पष्ट हो गया है कि बजट 2026/27 के बारे में जो भारी माहौल बनाया गया था, उसके मुकाबले यह कहीं कमतर रहा है। यह पूरी तरह फीका साबित हुआ।
— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) February 1, 2026
भाषण भी पारदर्शी नहीं था, क्योंकि इसमें प्रमुख…
Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, however, declined to comment on the Union Budget, stating that he would speak on Monday from Parliament's platform. "I will speak tomorrow, using the platform provided by Parliament," Gandhi told reporters.
West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee described the budget as “directionless” and “visionless,” saying it offers nothing for the common man. Speaking to reporters at Kolkata airport, she also alleged that the budget is anti-women, anti-farmer, and anti-education.
"They have not given a single paisa to Bengal. Only one tax is there, GST. They are taking away our money and saying big things that they are giving us money. It is our money. So, they don't have any moral authority to run the government and finish the country like this," she said.
#WATCH | Kolkata: On #UnionBudget, West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee says, "...What they said about three corridors is absolutely garbage of lies. Blatant lies. It is already in process and we have started working there. In the Jangalmahal Jangal Sundari project in Purulia, for this… pic.twitter.com/CaOfv4sHbn
— ANI (@ANI) February 1, 2026
Sitharaman presented her ninth consecutive budget in the lower house, announcing a slew of measures aimed at boosting infrastructure across the country. She also announced that the target for capex will be raised to Rs 12.2 lakh crore for FY27 from Rs 11.2 lakh crore earmarked for the current fiscal year.
