Union Budget is pro-rich, says Opposition

Opposition criticizes pro-rich Union Budget, urging Modi government to prioritize common people, farmers, and small enterprises.

Terming the Union Budget “pro-rich”, Opposition members in the Lok Sabha on Friday (February 7, 2025) urged the Modi government to improve the condition of the common people, farmers and agriculture workers, youth, small and medium enterprises, among others.

Before the discussion on the Budget started, Congress members objected to the absence of Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in the House. “It has been a convention that the Finance Minister is present at the time of the initiating the debate,” party leader K.C Venugopal pointed out.

Stating that there was no such parliamentary rule, the BJP’s Dilip Saikia, who was chairing the proceedings, pointed out that Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary was present in the House.

As the Congress MPs rose to their feet, Speaker Om Birla took over the House proceedings and assured the protesting members that he would “ensure” that whenever Budget discussions took place in future, Ms Sitharaman would be present.

Initiating the discussion on the Union Budget in the Lok Sabha, Congress member from Patiala, Dharamvira Gandhi, claimed the Budget failed to address farmers’ grievances. Expenditure towards health and education was stagnating, he said, adding that the government had tried to maintain fiscal deficit at the cost of social sector schemes.

He also called it “unitary” in nature as the States were “not allowed to participate in the Budget-making process”. “It failed to address the grievances of the farmers,” Mr. Gandhi said, adding that the “misplaced priorities” of the government led to the closure of MSME units across the country.

Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee alleged that the NDA government had mastered the art of taking away from the poor and giving to the wealthy elite, “the reverse of Robin Hood”.