After Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented Union Budget 2026 in Parliament on the morning of Sunday, February 1, opposition leaders across party lines have expressed disappointment, raising questions about a budget that was largely devoid of big announcements.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said that Budget 2026 refuses course correction and is blind to the issues facing the country. “Youth without jobs. Falling manufacturing. Investors pulling out capital. Household savings plummeting. Farmers in distress. Looming global shocks – all ignored,” he wrote.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, meanwhile, listed out seven questions for the government, including why there was no revival strategy for the manufacturing sector whose growth has stayed stagnant at 13% despite Make in India promises. He also asked why there was no serious plan for increasing employment or for dealing with the increasing debt and crisis of middle and low income groups in the country.
“Infrastructure promises repeated, delivery missing – cities still unliveable. When will we have ‘smart’ or even liveable cities? There was not a single substantial announcement on social security and welfare. There is not one word on the allocation for the new law that has replaced MGNREGA. Why?” he asked.
Bahujan Samaj Party leader Mayawati also took to social media to question the intent of the budget. “The Union government's budget essentially serves as a mirror reflecting the ruling party's policy and intent and reveals that the government’s policy is geared not toward the poor and marginalised but is instead nurturing the capitalist ideology and is supportive of big businesses and wealthy tycoons,” she alleged.
Mayawati also asked whether the budget had any substantial improvements to make in the lives of citizens and said that the economy had to be assessed on the quality of life it afforded to the people and not just on the basis of GDP.
Congress general secretary KC Venugopal called the budget heartless and clueless. “This is a budget for nobody except the PM’s cronies, with the ordinary Indian left to struggle under the weight of higher prices, falling jobs, crumbling infrastructure and a bleak future,” he said.
Congress MP from Kerala, Shashi Tharoor highlighted the neglect meted out to the poll-bound southern state in a series of posts on X, alleging, “The #UnionBudget2026 calls for a new hashtag: #InvisibleKerala!”
He reportedly told the media that Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s speech in Parliament “seemed to have "lots of subheadings but very few specifics", and was "completely short" of an overall vision.”