Amit Shah openly praised the budget, what did the opposition leaders including Kejriwal-Akhilesh say

New Delhi: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the budget for the financial year 2025-26 in Parliament on Saturday (February 1, 2025). This was her 8th consecutive budget. The budget was in line with the Economic Survey. Giving relief to the middle class, the Finance Minister announced to keep income up to Rs 12 lakh per annum out of the scope of income tax under the New Tax Regime. This will benefit crores of people from the working class.

Reactions from various leaders have started coming on the first full budget of the third term of the Modi government. While the leaders of BJP and its allies are praising the budget and calling it public welfare, the opposition leaders are criticizing it. Congress leader Jairam Ramesh took a dig at Budget 2025 and said, ‘The Finance Minister talked about 4 engines: agriculture, MSME, investment and export. So many engines that the budget has completely derailed.’

Bihar got a treasure trove of announcements: Congress

He further said, ‘It seems that Bihar has got a treasure trove of announcements in the budget. This is natural because elections are to be held there at the end of the year. But why was the second pillar of NDA, i.e. Andhra Pradesh, so ruthlessly ignored?’ Congress MP and son of former Finance Minister P. Chidambaram, Karti Chidambaram said, ‘We need to see whether the promises made in the earlier budget were fulfilled? To get a clear picture, one needs to read the budget. The announcements made regarding Bihar were natural. This is politics.’

This is a budget of political interest, not public interest: BSP

Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati said on the Union Budget 2025, ‘Due to the tremendous blow of inflation, poverty, unemployment in the country, as well as the lack of essential basic facilities like roads, water, education, happiness and peace, etc., the life of people in India with a huge population of about 140 crores is very troubled, which also needs to be resolved through the Union Budget. But the budget of the current BJP government, like that of the Congress, seems to be more about political interests and less about the people and the country. If this is not the case, then why is the life of the people continuously troubled, miserable and unhappy under this government? The dream of a developed India should also be in the interest of the Bahujans.’

Not the budget, but the figures of deaths in the Maha Kumbh are important: SP

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav said, ‘Not the budget… but the figures of those who died in the Maha Kumbh are more important. Why should we believe any of their figures, when people cannot even give the figures of those who died.’ Congress MP Manish Tiwari said, ‘I am unable to understand whether this was the budget of the Government of India or the Bihar government? Did you hear the name of any other state other than Bihar in the entire budget speech of the Union Finance Minister?’

Aam Aadmi Party national convenor and former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, while reacting to Budget 2025, said, ‘A large part of the country’s treasury goes into waiving off the loans of a few rich billionaires. I had demanded that it should be announced in the budget that from now on, the loans of any billionaire will not be waived. The money saved from this should be used to waive off the home loans and vehicle loans of the middle class; farmers’ loans should be waived off. Income tax and GST tax rates should be halved. I am sad that this was not done.’

This budget is a blueprint for Bharat Nirman: Amit Shah
At the same time, Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah praised Budget 2025 and said, ‘Budget-2025 is the blueprint of the Modi government’s vision towards building a developed and best India in every field. This budget, which covers every sector from education, nutrition and health of farmers, poor, middle class, women and children to startups, innovation and investment, is the roadmap of Modi ji’s self-reliant India. I congratulate Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman for this all-inclusive and visionary budget.’