Congress leader Rahul Gandhi criticised the Union Budget 2026-2027 on Sunday, describing it as blind to India’s real crisis and dismissive of the need for course correction. In a post on X, he highlighted concerns about falling manufacturing, capital outflow by investors, and plummeting household savings.
As the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Gandhi stated: “Youth without jobs. Falling manufacturing. Investors pulling out capital. Household savings plummeting. Farmers in distress. Looming global shocks – all ignored. A Budget that refuses course correction, blind to India’s real crises.” The Union Budget was presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in Parliament on the same day.
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh characterised the budget as “lacklustre,” adding that it provided no indication of budgetary allocations for key programmes and schemes. In a post on X, he said: “While the documents need to be studied in detail, it is clear after 90 mins that Budget 2026/27 falls woefully short of the hype that was generated about it. It was totally lacklustre. The speech was also non-transparent since it gave no idea whatsoever of budgetary allocations for key programmes and schemes.”
Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge criticised the budget for lacking policy vision and political will to tackle the country’s pressing economic, social, and political challenges. He asserted that the Modi government has run out of ideas, and that Budget 2026 does not offer solutions to India’s many challenges. Kharge posted: “‘Mission Mode’ is now ‘Challenge Route’. ‘Reform Express’ rarely stops at any ‘Reform’ Junction. Net result: No policy vision, No political will. Our Annadata Farmers still await meaningful welfare support or an income security plan. Inequality has surpassed the levels seen under the British Raj, but the Budget does not even mention it or provide any support to SC, ST, OBC, EWS, and Minority communities.”
Kharge mentioned the need to study the Finance Commission’s recommendations further but noted they appear to offer no relief to State Governments under severe financial stress, alleging that federalism has become a casualty. He detailed deficiencies in the budget, asserting:
- Manufacturing has no revival strategy and is stuck at 13%, questioning the status of “Make in India”;
- There is no serious plan for youth employability or increasing women’s workforce participation, with uncertainties about previous internship and skill development schemes;
- The budget does not address export slump, tariff risks, trade deficit, shrinking global share, or the plunging Rupee;
- The poor and middle class have no inflation relief; savings are falling, debt rising, wages stagnating, with no plan to reboot consumer demand;
- Private investment shows no confidence signal, with FDI and wage stagnation ignored, and only minor adjustments made without structural reforms;
- Infrastructure promises are repeated but delivery is lacking, with cities still unliveable and no clarity on “Smart Cities” initiatives;
- There are no substantial announcements on social security and welfare, with no details on allocation for the new law replacing MGNREGA.
Kharge concluded that the budget offers no solutions and “not even slogans to hide the absence of policy.”