On July 23, 2024, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Union Budget for 2024-25, which drew sharp criticism from opposition leaders. They expressed their dissatisfaction with various aspects of the budget, labelling it as politically motivated and lacking substance.
“Kursi Bachao,” Congress Leader
The Congress leader described the budget as a “Kursi Bachao” budget, implying that it was designed to protect the interests of the ruling party rather than the common people. He accused the government of making “hollow promises” to its allies while neglecting the needs of other states. Gandhi also claimed that the budget was a “copy and paste” of the Congress manifesto, particularly criticizing the employment-linked incentives and apprenticeship schemes as ideas taken from their proposals
“Special Financial Support”
“In 2018, Chandrababu Naidu garu quit the NDA because of the non-biological PM’s failure to grant Andhra Pradesh Special Category Status. Six years after the drama, at a time when the Government is reliant on his MPs for support, all he has managed to get is ‘special financial support’ for Amravati,” reacted Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh MP.
Another Congress MP pointed out that the budget seemed to cater to political compulsions rather than addressing the actual needs of the people, indicating that it was influenced by the necessity to appease coalition partners
Former Finance Minister
The former Finance Minister and Congress MP remarked that he was pleased to see elements of the Congress manifesto reflected in the budget, suggesting that the current government had borrowed ideas from the opposition
Samajwadi Party
A senior leader from the Samajwadi Party criticised the budget as merely a “show of numbers,” suggesting that the promises made would not translate into real action.
“Development measures for Bihar and Andhra Pradesh are driven by the BJP’s political compulsion to save its government. Is there anything for Uttar Pradesh, India’s most populous state? Uttar Pradesh has given the country its prime minister, yet the state’s farmers have received nothing despite earlier promises of doubling their income. The state has no ‘mandi’ for farmers, and the budget’s announcement for the highway from Buxar in Bihar should have included an extension to Purvanchal Expressway. The youth want permanent jobs, not short-term measures,” stated SP Chief Akhilesh Yadav.
“They are saying that they will give 4 crore jobs, how many jobs have you given in the last 10 years? What about the issue of migration from Bihar? Nitish Kumar is a kingmaker but you didn’t get the special package. Now you are saying that don’t give us special state status but a package. Why are you begging? Talk about special state status. No central university has been announced. You don’t need to withdraw support, just leave the cabinet,” stated Pappu Yadav MP.
“It is an underwhelming budget. I didn’t hear anything about the key issues facing the common man. There is no mention of MNREGA, and insufficient mention of steps taken to improve the income of a common person,” said Congress MP Shashi Tharoor.
A Shiv Sena (UBT) MP referred to the budget as a “PM Sarkaar Bachao Yojana,” suggesting that it was more about preserving the government’s power than genuinely benefiting the public
