Days ahead of the presentation of the Union Budget, the Congress on Friday alleged that it would be aimed at making a few crony capitalists richer rather than addressing concerns such as unemployment, rising inequalities and ‘drying up’ of FDI.  Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is scheduled to present the Union Budget on July 23.

Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate also alleged that this government has nothing to do with common people, farmers, youth, women and middle class, and claimed that the upcoming budget, like in the past years of the Modi government, is being prepared to build more monopolies in various sectors.

In the wake of the recent train accidents, she also asked what is being done to make the railways safer and will Finance Minister Sitharaman allocate more funds which would in turn be used to protect people.

‘On July 23, 2024, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present her seventh budget. Before preparing this budget, she met some industrialists, bankers and farmer organisations and discussed issues with them but has she met the families who are unable to eat three meals a day? Has she met the women who are struggling with inflation? Has she met the farmers who are struggling to get fair prices for their crops? Has she met the youth who are suffering due to paper leaks? Has she met the real India?’ Shrinate asked.

‘It is clear that she has not met them. This budget is being prepared to make a few crony capitalists richer,’ she said at a press conference at the AICC headquarters here.

Displaying slides with economic data at the presser, Shrinate said the foreign direct investment (FDI) is drying up and India has traded deficit with nine of the top 10 trading partners.

She claimed that monopolies have been increasing in sectors such as cement, telecom, aviation and tyres, and said this budget will see more monopolies being built.

Citing a farmer's suicide, Shrinate said Finance Minister Sitharaman or Prime Minister Narendra Modi do not know anything about them, hence the budget has not been made for them.

Shrinate said the crumbling railings in Gujarat with job-seekers at a hotel and the lakhs of people flocking to Mumbai for aviation jobs exposes the false arguments of this government on unemployment.