NEW DELHI: Opposition and treasury benches sparred in the two Houses Monday during discussion on Union Budget with Congress’ P Chidambaram saying Budget was “without a philosophy” and DMK’s Dayanidhi Maran calling tax relief a “sugar rush” which could not be sustained.
BJP countered the statements and Anurag Thakur hailed Budget as a “force multiplier” and a “booster shot”.
TMC, NCP (SP), AIMIM and others too criticised NDA for its “failure to address main issues” in the economy, where rupee has touched a “historic” low against US dollar and foreign investments are leaving the country. TMC said it is opposed to FDI in insurance, entirely.
Speaking in Rajya Sabha, Chidambaram said Budget was drafted targeting assembly elections in Delhi. He attacked the finance minister for cutting capital expenditure to manage fiscal deficit while not reducing GST, or bringing down pump prices of petrol and diesel which could have brought relief across the board. “Govt could have done better raising minimum wages,” he added.
However, treasury benches in both Houses defended govt, calling it a “visionary Budget” which would contribute in ‘Viksit Bharat’ goal with ease of doing business and leaving more income in hands of the common man. Hailing Budget, JDU’s Sanjay Jha said it had corrected the “historical neglect of Bihar” by making provisions through special schemes for the state. This, he said, fit into Modi govt’s ‘rising east’ policy.
In LS, Congress’ Manish Tewari expressed concern at rising govt debt, which has gone up from Rs 55 lakh crore in FY2014 to Rs 196 lakh crore in FY2026. He said the burden was left for future generations to service the huge debt.
Referring to Rs 12 lakh tax rebate, Maran said this would only benefit 2.5 crore taxpayers, while there was nothing for 99% of the population.
