Budget has no steps to address structural challenges economy is facing: Opposition

Samajwadi Party MPs Akhilesh Yadav, Dharmendra Yadav, Zia-ur-Rahman Barq and others during the Budget session of Parliament, on February 1, 2025.
| Photo Credit: PTI

Expressing disappointment at the Union Budget presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday (February 1, 2025), Opposition parties said it was geared for the Bihar Assembly polls scheduled for later this year and there were no measures to address the structural challenges that the economy was facing.

Income tax cuts announced were misleading and only aimed to fool the Delhi electorate, who vote on February 5, several Opposition leaders said.

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Rashtriya Janata Dal MP Manoj K. Jha said the Finance Minister announced income tax cuts but in the same breath she said the government would be bringing in a new income tax Bill next week. “The ifs and buts in the announcement are not yet clear. The reason why they will wait to bring the new income tax bill next week is because by then Delhi would have voted,” he said.

DMK MP Dayanidhi Maran called the Budget a “big letdown” for the country.

“It is a big letdown for the country, especially for the middle class. The Finance Minister claims she is giving tax exemption up to ₹12 lakh, but the very next line was, there is 10% tax slab for ₹8 lakh to 10 lakh income,” he said.

Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav said the Budget did not reflect the ground realities. “The government claims that it will construct world-class infrastructure but look at the state of our cities, they are choked. The Budget is merely a web of numbers to mislead the common man,” he said. Citing the examples of Varanasi, Prayagraj and Ayodhya, he said the three holy cities were crumbling under pressure with no infrastructure to support the crowds coming there.

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‘Bengal deprived’

Trinamool Congress National General Secretary and MP Abhishek Banerjee said the Finance Minister focused on Bihar alone. West Bengal was continued to be deprived “There has been nothing for Bengal in the Union Budget. As in the past during the BJP’s reign, there has not been enough allocation for the State in this Budget. Our [TMC] MPs have been vocal and have sought a rise in the allocation of funds for Central projects. We have demanded new projects for Bengal but the State remains deprived,” he said.

CPI’s Rajya Sabha member Sandosh Kumar said the Budget failed to address the structural challenges facing the economy such as rural distress, stagnant agriculture and rising unemployment. The overdependence on indirect taxes was equally worrying, he said. “The share of corporate tax to Union government’s kitty is static at 17% despite soaring profits. This ensures that big corporates continue to benefit from large concessions, while ordinary citizens are squeezed for every penny,” he added.