Congress MP Dharamvira Gandhi on Friday claimed the Union Budget 2025-26 failed to address farmers' grievances and tried to maintain fiscal deficit at the cost of social sector schemes. Initiating the discussion on the Union Budget in Lok Sabha on behalf on Congress, the Patiala MP also called it "unilateral" in nature as states were "not allowed to participate in the Budget making process". The expenditures towards health and education were stagnating, and the government contained fiscal deficit at the cost of social sector schemes, he claimed.
Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee alleged that the NDA Government has mastered the art of taking from the poor and giving to the wealthy elite, with the pattern resembling the "reverse of Robin Hood." He said Modi led Government does not believe in economic justice but in economic favouritism.
"There is a pattern with the NDA government… we know the story of Robin Hood -- taking from the rich and giving to the poor. The BJP has mastered the art of taking from the poor and giving to the wealthy elite. So, it's reverse Robin Hood."
"For instance, the waiving of corporate loans worth thousands of crores using taxpayers' money, while poor farmers struggling with debts are left to suffer. The government claims to have no money to increase subsidies on essential commodities, yet it slashes corporate tax rates, giving billionaires an even bigger slice of the pie. This is not economic justice. This is economic favouritism at its worst," Banerjee said.
As the Lok Sabha took up discussions on the Budget, Congress members demanded the presence of Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in the House. Dilip Saikia, who was chairing the proceedings, pointed out that Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary was present (in the House), and that there was no such rule under Parliament proceedings that made the presence of the finance minister mandatory during Budget discussions.
To this, Congress leader KC Venugopal contended that as per convention, the Finance Minister remains present in the House whenever Budget discussions are initiated. As the Congress MPs rose to their feet, Speaker Om Birla took over the House proceedings from Saikia, and assured the protesting members that he will "ensure" in future that whenever Budget discussions are initiated, the Finance Minister is present in the House.
He added that there is a concept of "collective responsibility" in the council of ministers, and it doesn't matter if a Cabinet minister or a minister of state is present in the House when discussions are taking place. "There is no rule/regulation in this regard. This ia only a convention," Birla said, asking the Congress members not to debate the issue further. Soon after, Nirmala Sitharaman joined the House proceedings.
In his speech said, Gandhi also claimed the Budget "neglected" the farm sector by not announcing any loan waiver or insurance scheme for the farmers. "It failed to address the grievances of the farmers," he said, adding that the "misplaced priorities" of the government led to the closure of MSME units across the country. Participating in the discussion, BJP MP from Jaipur Rural Rao Rajendra Singh claimed the Centre gave maximum benefits to the middle class compared to any other Government of the past. In the last five years, individual taxpayers have been given benefits of about `8.71 Lakh Crore, while the corporate taxpayers have been given benefits worth about `4.53 Lakh Crore, Singh said. "While foreign investors are willing to invest in India, the opposition members are doubting the country's economic potential," he said.
Congress MP Pradyut Bordoloi said the budget has failed to address key issues like inflation and unemployment, and asked the government to take steps to enhance economic activity and increase disposable income of the people. He claimed that the income tax measure announced in the budget will benefit only 2 per cent of the country's population. "There are no major interventions to curb inflation," he said. Bordoloi asked the Government to expand and strengthen food security, increase allocation to public distribution system (PDS), and universalise free ration distribution for the next two years. "Reduce GST on essentials like food, medicine and medical insurance," he said.
CPI (ML) Liberation MP Sudama Prasad also criticised the budget and said it is "pro-rich". "Pro-rich budget has been presented" by the government, he said, adding that there is nothing for poor and youth in the budget. He also alleged that the government has cut the allocations pertaining to sectors like agriculture and education.
Satabadi Roy (TMC) said every budget is full of politics and this time the focus is on Bihar, where assembly elections are due later this year. She also alleged that the budget has not given anything to West Bengal. Raising the issue of farmer indebtedness, Rajeev Rai (SP) said the government should consider announcing a debt waiver scheme for farmers. Farmer suicide has become very rampant because they are in a debt trap, he said, adding that the government has not done anything for farmers in the last five years. On the other hand, Alok Kumar Suman (JD-U) and Chandan Chauhan (RLD) said the budget will benefit all sections of society.