Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi and other top Opposition leaders on Saturday expressed disappointment over the Union Budget 2025 asserting that this was not a people-centric budget.

However, BJP national president and Union Health Minister JP Nadda, led the party leaders in hailing the Budget, describing it as a “visionary roadmap” towards Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of a ‘Viksit Bharat’.

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Reacting sharply to the Budget, the Congress president called it “directionless” and an attempt by the BJP government to fool the people.

“In the last 10 years, the Modi government has collected income tax of Rs 54.18 lakh crore from the middle class, and now the exemption upto Rs 12 lakh is being given. The Finance Minister herself is saying that there will be a saving of Rs 80,000 per year. That is only 6,666 per month. The entire country is struggling with the problem of inflation and unemployment, but the Modi government is bent on garnering false praise,” Kharge said.

Kharge, who is also the Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha, said, “In this budget, ‘Make In India’ has been made ‘National Manufacturing Mission’ to hide its flaws. All other announcements are almost like this. There is nothing for the youth.”

“Modi had promised yesterday that he would take a big step for the empowerment of women in this budget, but nothing like that happened in the budget. No roadmap to double farmers’ income. No concession was given in GST rates on agricultural items. Startup India, Stand-up India, Skill India, all the schemes proved to be just announcements,” he wrote on X.

He asserted overall, this Budget was an attempt by the Modi government to fool the people.

Echoing similar sentiments, Rahul Gandhi in a social media post, wrote, “A band-aid for bullet wounds! Amid global uncertainty, solving our economic crisis demanded a paradigm shift. But this government is bankrupt of ideas.”

Senior Congress leader and former Finance Minister, P Chidambaram, at a press conference accused the BJP of wooing the tax paying middle class and the Bihar electorate.

“These announcements will be welcomed by the 3.2 crore tax paying middle class and the 7.65 crore voters of Bihar.  For the rest of India, the Finance Minister had no more than soothing words, punctuated by the applause of BJP members led by the Prime Minister,” he said.

Talking to the reporters, Samajwadi Party (SP) chief and former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav demanded that the government provide the data of those who lost their lives in the recent stampede at the Maha Kumbh.

“For us the data of people who died in the recent stampede at the Maha Kumbh is more important than the Budget data. The government should provide the data,” he said.

Attacking the ruling BJP, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener, Arvind Kejriwal, said, “A large part of the country’s wealth is spent on waiving off the loans of a few rich billionaires. I had demanded that it be announced in the Budget that in future the loans of any billionaire will not be waived off. I am sad this was not done”.

Trinamool Congress (TMC) national general secretary and MP ,Abhishek Banerjee, wrote on X, “The NDA government has once again laid bare its utter disregard for the people with a Budget that reeks of political opportunism, not welfarism. This is not a people-centric budget- it is an election stunt designed to bankroll BJP’s electoral machinery and appease its allies.”

He said the message is loud and clear that the NDA government does not care about the people – it only cares about power.

Reacting to the Budget, Communist Party of India (CPI) MP, P Sandosh Kumar, said, “This Budget is another missed opportunity to bring betterment in the lives of the majority but the BJP is ideologically designed only to serve the corporates. The CPI, which is the party of the people, will expose and oppose this systematic assault against the majority of our people.”

On the contrary, BJP national chief, J P Nadda, said, “The Union Budget 2025 is a visionary roadmap that embodies the aspirations and dreams of 140 crore Indians, lighting the way towards Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji’s vision of a ‘Viksit Bharat.’ By focusing on the four engines — Agriculture, MSME, Investment, and Export, Viksit Bharat Budget2025 will drive the aspirations of Gareeb, Yuva, Annadata and Nari, ensuring that no one is left behind on the road to progress.”

Union Home Minister Amit Shah said the ‘Viksit Bharat Budget 2025’ unleashes Bharat’s gigantic strength in the power sector by announcing a mammoth Rs 20,000 crore Nuclear Energy Mission.

BJP leader Mrityunjay Sharma said, “The Budget 2025-26 is more than a financial document – it is a strategic vision aimed at future-proofing India. By balancing economic prudence with transformative policy initiatives, this budget ensures progress in high-value manufacturing, employment generation, research innovation, and sustainable growth.”