Reacting to the Union Budget 2025 presented by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday, the AAP termed it a deception of the middle class, as the government provided no relief on GST and home loans.
Reacting to the budget, AAP National Convener Arvind Kejriwal said a portion of the nation’s treasury is being used to waive off the loans of a handful of billionaire industrialists.
“I had demanded that no billionaire’s loans should be waived in the future. The money saved from this should be used to provide relief on middle–class home and vehicle loans and waive off farmers’ debts. Income tax and GST rates should be halved. I am saddened that this was not done,” he wrote on X.
Meanwhile, senior AAP leader and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh stated that Arvind Kejriwal had demanded that the government declare it would no longer waive off industrialists’ loans. He also pointed out that the Modi government has waived Rs 16 lakh crore worth of loans for its corporate friends, and that money should be recovered. If this money were recovered, income tax and GST rates could be halved.
However, the government made no such announcement, which means the BJP still intends to waive off thousands of crores of loans for big businesses and has no intention of recovering the massive outstanding amounts.
Singh further said that while the government has given tax relief to those earning up to Rs 12 lakh, small traders have been excluded from this benefit. “How will they be given relief? There was talk of doubling farmers’ crop prices, but the budget does not mention it. They had promised two crore jobs every year, yet there is no mention of this in the budget either. In short, this budget is designed to benefit only a handful of corporate friends,” he added.
Reacting to the budget, AAP leader Jasmine Shah wrote on X that Budget 2025 is disappointing for everyone, especially the middle class. He explained in simple terms why it fails the middle class.
He pointed out that about 30 percent of India’s population is middle class, but only 2 percent, i.e. around 3 crore people, pay income tax. The rest, including the poor, contribute through indirect taxes such as GST and excise duty on petrol and diesel. Yet, this budget provides no relief for 98 percent of Indians.
Shah stated that two weeks ago, Arvind Kejriwal had suggested seven major measures for the middle class. These include increased spending on healthcare and education, removing GST on essential goods, implementing a pension scheme, and providing a 50 percent concession on train tickets for senior citizens. However, the Modi government adopted only one of these measures, raising the tax exemption limit, which benefits only 2 percent of people.