Budget 2024 is a 'kursi bachao' budget: Rahul Gandhi

Taking a swipe at the Union government, Congress MP and Lok Sabha leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday described the Union Budget 2024 as a “kursi bachao” (save the chair) budget.

In a post on X, Gandhi said:

“Kursi Bachao” Budget.

- Appease Allies: Hollow promises to them at the cost of other states.

- Appease Cronies: Benefits to AA with no relief for the common Indian.

- Copy and Paste: Congress manifesto and previous budgets."

Veteran Congressman and former Union finance minister P. Chidambaram has also pointed out that chunks of the Budget appear to be copied from the Congress manifesto released ahead of the Lok Sabha elections 2024, held between April and June.

In other reactions to the Budget, Congress MPs from Punjab staged a protest in Parliament immediately after Sitharaman concluded her Budget presentation, accusing the BJP-led NDA government of neglecting Punjab throughout the speech.

Punjab Congress chief and Ludhiana MP Amarinder Singh Raja Warring said Punjab's name was not mentioned even once in Sitharaman's speech. "Sometimes, we feel that we have vanished from India’s map since BJP came to power," Warring said.

"Bihar was mentioned 50 times, Andhra was mentioned 50 times, but Punjab was forgotten. They (JDU in Bihar and TDP in Andhra) are alliance partners. To please them, the government has granted special packages," Warring pointed out. "Punjab needs special grants for our infrastructural needs, but the BJP continues to ignore Punjab."

Hitting out at Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar, known for his shifting alliances, Warring added, "The government fears that Palturam (turncoat, a nickname used for Kumar) may switch sides again."

"Punjab was not mentioned in the entire budget. Why? Because of the sacrifices made by Punjabis, the PM unfurls the tricolor at the Red Fort every year," he said.

Warring also noted that Kerala was overlooked because the state does not send too many members to the Lok Sabha. It is important to note that the BJP won Thrissur Lok Sabha seat in Kerala while the remaining seat was won by the UDF.

Congress leaders from Punjab urged the finance minister to announce something for Punjab in the review budget. Saying "Punjabis had high hopes from the Union government. The FM chose not to mention Punjab even once", Warring posted on X: "The country’s food bowl deserves special grants for our infrastructural needs but BJP continues to ignore Punjab."

In another post on X, the Congress claimed that the government had "tacitly" admitted that "mass unemployment is a national crisis", and said the Budget has "political compulsions written all over it".

In a post in Hindi, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said, "The Modi government's 'copycat budget' could not even copy the Congress' justice agenda properly! The Budget is distributing half-hearted rewadis (sops) to dupe its coalition partners so that the NDA survives."

With inputs from agencies