Union Budget 2024: Rahul Gandhi calls it a copy-paste 'kursi bachao' Budget

Budget 2024: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said the Budget 2024 document was copied from the Congress party's election manifesto

Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday criticised Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s 2024 Union Budget, describing the Budget document as a “kursi bachao” Budget.
 

The Congress leader said that the Finance Minister’s Budget document was copied from the Congress party’s election manifesto.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), the Congress leader said it’s a “Kursi Bachao” Budget. Appease Allies: Hollow promises to them at the cost of other states. Appease Cronies: Benefits to AA with no relief for the common Indian. Copy and Paste: Congress manifesto and previous budgets.”

“Kursi Bachao” Budget.

- Appease Allies: Hollow promises to them at the cost of other states.

- Appease Cronies: Benefits to AA with no relief for the common Indian.

- Copy and Paste: Congress manifesto and previous budgets.

— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) July 23, 2024

“Underwhelming", says Shashi Tharoor

Terming the Union Budget 2024 as “underwhelming”, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor said that the Finance Minister’s speech did not address any key issue.

 

“It is an underwhelming budget. I didn’t hear anything about the key issues facing the common man. There is no mention of MNREGA, and insufficient mention of steps taken to improve the income of a common person,” Tharoor said.

Talking about the Centre’s decision to abolish angel tax, Tharoor said, “I welcome only one provision, which is abolishing the tax on angel investors. I had recommended it to Arun Jaitley more than five years ago.”

Copy-paste from Congress’ election manifesto

Slamming Nirmala Sitharaman’s Budget speech, the Congress party said that the 2024 Union Budget is “more focused on posturing than action”.

The party further said that the “copy-paste government” has borrowed many elements from the Congress’ election manifesto.
 

In a post, the party said that the ruling government has admitted that “mass unemployment is a national crisis”, and said the 2024 budget has "political compulsions written all over it”.

Budget 2024: ‘PM Sarkaar Bachao Yojana’

Shiv Sena’s Priyanka Chaturvedi said that the 2024 Budget is a means to save the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for the next five years.
 

“I think this Budget should be called ‘PM Sarkaar Bachao Yojana’ because they have realised if they want to save this government for the next five years, they would need their alliance partners to be happy. After denying a special status to Bihar and Andhra Pradesh, they have given them funds. Maharashtra continues to be ignored by the Centre. It has become a state where you keep taking in money from,” Chaturvedi said.