Opposition slams Budget 2026 as hollow, directionless
New Delhi: Opposition parties on Sunday mounted a broad attack on the Union Budget 2026-27, calling it hollow, directionless and inattentive to economic stress, even as the government defended its choices as fiscally disciplined and evenly spread across states, including those heading to Assembly elections.
In statements and social media posts issued after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Budget in Parliament, leaders across parties said the document lacked answers to unemployment, slowing manufacturing, farm distress and rising inequality, while several chief ministers from poll-bound states accused the Centre of overlooking regional priorities.
The Congress described the Budget as “totally lacklustre” and accused the government of refusing course correction. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said Budget 2026 “does not provide a single solution to India’s many economic, social and political challenges”, adding that it showed “no policy vision or political will”. Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi said youth unemployment, falling manufacturing output and farmer distress had been ignored. “Investors pulling out capital. Household savings plummeting. Looming global shocks. All ignored,” he said in a post.
Former finance minister P Chidambaram said the Budget and the accompanying speech failed the test of economic strategy, while Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh called the presentation non-transparent, arguing it offered little clarity on allocations for major schemes even after a 90-minute speech.
Regional parties echoed similar concerns. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee termed the Budget a “directionless and visionless Humpty Dumpty”, claiming cuts in key sectors and “nothing on offer” for her state. Trinamool Congress general secretary Abhishek Banerjee called it faceless and baseless, criticising the omission of West Bengal from the finance minister’s speech.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin said the Budget was a “huge disappointment” and ignored the interests of the poor, women, farmers and marginalised communities in the state. Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan accused the Centre of continued neglect, noting that expected announcements such as a high-speed rail corridor and an AIIMS did not materialise.
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav said the Budget was meant for the “top five per cent” of the population and challenged the government to disclose per-capita income figures for the remaining 95 per cent. Speaking in Parliament, he said basic issues such as education and healthcare were ignored. Dimple Yadav said there was nothing for women or youth. RJD MP Manoj Jha flagged rising inequality and unemployment, while AAP leaders Arvind Kejriwal and Sanjay Singh warned of inflationary pressures and unfulfilled job promises.
Left parties described the Budget as anti-people and anti-federal. CPI MP P Sandosh Kumar said the speech reflected a political choice to look away from hardships while concentrating resources in fewer hands. BSP chief Mayawati questioned the future outcomes of announced schemes.
The government, however, rejected charges of favouring or ignoring states. At a post-Budget briefing, Sitharaman said “enough was done to cover all these election states”, arguing that targeted allocations only for poll-bound regions would have invited criticism. Budget documents list multiple projects across states, including high-speed rail corridors linking major cities such as Hyderabad-Chennai and Chennai-Bengaluru, rare earth corridors in mineral-rich states including Tamil Nadu and Kerala, and tourism initiatives under the Purvodaya vision for eastern India.
For Tamil Nadu, the Budget outlined proposals ranging from high-speed rail links for Chennai and a rare earth corridor to bird-watching trails at Pulikat Lake and development of the Adichanallur archaeological site. West Bengal was earmarked for a dedicated freight corridor from Dankuni to Surat, an East Coast industrial corridor node at Durgapur, tourism projects and 4,000 e-buses. Assam was included in infrastructure upgrades for Tier II and Tier III cities, Buddhist circuits across the Northeast and the upgradation of the Tezpur mental health institute, drawing praise from Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, who called the Budget reform-oriented. Puducherry was allocated 3,517.88 crore rupees, with Chief Minister N Rangasamy describing it as progressive.
