‘Nothing for common people, basic issues ignored’, Opposition MPs decry Union Budget

Asked about the Budget presented in Parliament by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, the third of the BJP-led NDA in its third term, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav said it was meant for the top 5 per cent of the population, as he challenged the government to declare the per-capita income of the remaining 95 per cent of the populace.

Opposition MPs on Sunday alleged that the Union Budget 2026-27 did not have any announcements for the common people, and failed to address basic issues like education, healthcare and unemployment. Asked about the Budget presented in Parliament by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, the third of the BJP-led NDA in its third term, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav said it was meant for the ''top 5 per cent'' of the population, as he challenged the government to declare the per-capita income of the remaining 95 per cent of the populace. ''If things continue like this, we will have to make jewellery by plating brass over iron. This Budget is beyond understanding. The basic issues – education and health – have been ignored. If we truly want to dream of a developed India, we must allocate much more to the education sector. This is an incomprehensible Budget,'' Yadav told the media in the Parliament House complex. ''What can you expect from those who have not fulfilled their past promises? Their Budget is only for the top 5 per cent of the population; common people are disappointed,'' the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister said. ''They claim 25 crore people have moved out of poverty… Can the government reveal the per capita income of the bottom 95 per cent,'' he asked. Samajwadi Party MP and Akhilesh Yadav's wife Dimple Yadav spoke on similar lines. ''There's nothing much in the Budget. Earlier, the entire family used to sit together and watch the Budget. There is nothing for women or youth in this Budget. We wanted the government to raise the budget for education, healthcare, agriculture... However, this Budget has nothing for these sectors,'' she said. RJD Rajya Sabha MP Manoj Jha said the Budget failed to address issues like rising income inequality and unemployment. ''Today's Budget has once again failed to address the two most serious issues affecting the country's vast population – rapidly rising income inequality and alarming unemployment,'' Jha said in a post on X. ''Instead of grappling with these structural crises, the Budget has resorted to superficial measures and heavy rhetoric. This embellishment of words may create headlines for a day or two, but it cannot bring any change in the economic realities/concerns of ordinary people,'' the RJD leader said. AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh also raised concern over the Budget ''ignoring'' key issues like unemployment. ''The biggest promise made by this government was to provide jobs to the unemployed – two crore jobs every year. The government is about to complete 12 years (in office); what happened to those 24 crore jobs,'' Singh questioned. ''The government should clearly state its plans to provide employment to the youth,'' he said.

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