Rahul Gandhi Criticizes Budget 2024 as a Move to ‘Protect Seats and Appease Allies and Cronies’

On Wednesday, Congress MP and Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi criticized the BJP government, calling the Union Budget a “Kursi Bachao” (protecting seat) budget.

In a post on X, Rahul Gandhi criticized the budget as one designed to protect seats, accusing the government of making hollow promises to allies at the expense of other states and favoring corporate cronies over ordinary Indians. He also added that the new budget was copied from the Congress manifesto and previous budgets.

Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge accused the Modi government of stealing Congress’ youth programme under a different name. He also noted that the inflation aspect that affects the whole country has been completely ignored in the budget revealing that the budget is designed to maintain their political positions. He claimed they are only interested in pleasing certain groups to protect their positions.

On X, senior Congress leader P. Chidambaram expressed his satisfaction that the Hon’ble Finance Minister had read the Congress Manifesto for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections after the results. He noted that she had adopted and embraced the employment Linked Incentive as laid out on page 30 of the manifesto. He also welcomed the introduction of an apprenticeship scheme that offers allowances as outlined on page 11 of the Congress Manifesto. However, Chidambaram wished that the Finance Minister had included more ideas from the Congress Manifesto and informed that he would list such missed opportunities soon.

The budget was criticized by Jairam Ramesh who observed that the Finance Minister had borrowed one among other aspects from Congress’s 2024 manifesto that proposed the Apprenticeship Program called Pehli Naukri Pakki in the creation of this new internship program. However, he emphasized how the scheme is intended to grab headlines with arbitrary targets like “1 crore internships”, instead of a guaranteed program for all diploma holders and graduates as envisioned by the Congress.

Congress party’s manifesto promised a new Right to Apprenticeship Act, which ensures, a one-year apprenticeship with a private or public sector company for every diploma holder or college graduate under twenty-five years old. They will earn ₹1 lakh per annum thus gaining skills, improving employability, and generating millions of full-time jobs for youth.

Congress General Secretary, Priyanka Gandhi spoke about the opposition’s protest in Parliament about the Union Budget which she argued undermined the federal structure of the country. She also criticized it for being detrimental to farmers, and the impoverished and middle-class population.

Priyanka Gandhi guaranteed that the opposition bloc would continue to fight on behalf of the people. She reiterated that the INDIA alliance will not tolerate any unfairness but instead, it will always fight for its people. She also mentioned that MPs from opposition parties today protested outside of Parliament House on these issues.

In the 2024 Union Budget, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman made an important shift from past economic plans by focusing on direct support instead of trickle-down effects. The budget features income tax cuts and increased deductions to give the middle class some relief and boost their disposable income. One of the standout elements is a massive ₹2 lakh crore investment in youth employment and skill development, which includes plans for one-year internships at top companies for one crore young people over the next five years. Additionally, the budget tightens the fiscal deficit target to 4.9% of GDP and highlights future reforms in productivity, infrastructure, and financial regulations.

Sitharaman’s approach is quite different from previous policies. They attempt to focus on making improvements in addressing the unemployment crisis, supporting small business owners and middle-income earners. As such the budget’s main emphasis on job creation, education, and economic growth will most likely resonate with voters and influence ongoing state elections.