Rahul Gandhi Mocks Nirmala Sitharaman’s Budget 2025, Calls It a ‘Band-Aid’ Solution

Rahul Gandhi Mocks Nirmala Sitharaman’s Budget 2025: Rahul Gandhi of Congress on Saturday ripped into the Centre concerning the Union Budget 2025, calling it “a band-aid for bullet wounds”.

“Amid global uncertainty, solving our economic crisis demanded a paradigm shift. But this government is bankrupt of ideas,” Rahul Gandhi posted on X.

Earlier, Congress blamed the Union Budget, read by finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, for not offering a cure for such “ills” plaguing the economy as stagnant real wages, lack of buoyancy in mass consumption, lethargic private investment rates, and the obnoxious complications of the GST system.

Also Read: Budget 2025: List of Items That Got Cheaper and Costlier

It also claimed that the Narendra Modi government had given Bihar, whose chief minister is NDA ally Nitish Kumar, a “bonanza” while being "extremely cruel" in ignoring Andhra Pradesh, another state in the alliance.

Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said, "The economy is suffering from four related crises -- stagnant real wages, lack of buoyancy in mass consumption, sluggish rates of private investment, complex and complicated GST system."

"The Budget does nothing to address these illnesses. The only relief has been for income tax payers. What actual impact this will have on the economy remains to be seen," he said on X.

Taking a pot-shot at the Centre concerning the Union Budget, Congress further stated that while Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman was talking about four engines for development, the Budget itself was "completely derailed".

In her Saturday budget speech, Sitharaman spoke of agriculture, MSME, investments and exports as the four power engines of development.

Ramesh said, "The FM spoke of four engines: Agriculture, MSMEs, Investment, and Exports. So many engines that the Budget has been completely derailed."

In another post, he said, "The BJP led by Arun Jaitley successfully sabotaged the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act, 2010, that international companies wanted when Dr Manmohan Singh was PM. Now to appease Mr Trump, the FM announces that the Act will be amended."

The Union Budget presentation for the 2025-26 fiscal strongly focused on Bihar, with several announcements in the state, including the formation of a Makhana Board, financial aid to the western Kosi canal, and support to enhance the capacity of IIT Patna.

The finance minister, in the Lok Sabha while presenting her record eighth Union Budget, also announced the establishment of a National Institute of Food Technology, Entrepreneurship and Management in Bihar and facilitate greenfield airports there.

Ramesh said Bihar seems to be getting a bonanza of announcements.

"It is natural since elections are due there later in the year. But why is (has) the other pillar of the NDA, namely Andhra Pradesh, been so cruelly ignored?" Ramesh posed on X in an apparent reference to BJP allies JD(U) from Bihar and TDP from Andhra Pradesh.

The Congress leader further slammed the government for its announcements regarding nutritional support programmes like Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0.

"The Finance Minister has announced the revision of cost norms in Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0 -- after many years of turning down this demand. The FM has however not extended this announcement to -- inclusion of breakfast in schools; provision of a glass of milk, as is done in Karnataka through the Ksheera Bhagya Scheme; upward revision in the honorarium given to Anganwadi workers," he said.

"The Union Education and WCD ministries themselves have been pushing for these proposals for years, only to be turned down by the finance ministry. What kind of investment in people is the finance minister envisioning without these basic provisions?" Ramesh said.

While announcing the enhancement of cost norms for nutritional support programmes like Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0 in Union Budget 2025-26, Sitharaman stated.

Also Read: P Chidambaram Criticizes Nirmala Sitharaman’s Budget 2025: ‘Beyond Capacity…’

It is a fact that about 8 crore children, 1 crore pregnant and lactating women, and 20 lakh adolescent girls in aspirational districts and northeast region are being supported nutritionally by the Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0 programmes.

The Congress Party also attacked the Union government over the announcements in the Budget related to the agriculture sector, charging that the Finance Minister was "completely silent" on demands from farmers ranging from MSP being a legal guarantee and the waiver of farm loans.

Hitting out at the government, Ramesh said in a post on X, "The FM starts with agriculture but is completely silent on the demands of farmers and the recommendations of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Agriculture -- MSP as a legal guarantee, farm loan waiver, inflation indexation of PM Kisan payouts and reforms to PM Fasal Bima Yojana."

In another post, he said, "Make in India that had become Fake in India now has a new name: National Manufacturing Mission."

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