Budget 2024: Here’s how Rahul Gandhi reacted to Nirmala Sitharaman’s interim budget in February

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present Budget 2024 in the Parliament today.

The Budget, first of the third consecutive government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, comes in the backdrop of changed political landscape in the country. The BJP fell short of the majority mark in the Lok Sabha elections 2024 forcing it to rely on its National Democratic Alliance(NDA) allies including N Chandrababu Naidu-led Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and Nitish Kumar-led Janata Dal (United) to form the government at the Centre.

Sitharaman had presented an interim Budget for the current financial year (2024-25) on February 1. Then Sitharaman had termed it the first Budget in ‘Amrit Kaal’.

"This is the first budget in Amrit Kaal, this budget hopes to build on the foundation laid in the previous budget and the blueprint laid for India@100, we envision a prosperous and inclusive India in which the fruits of development reach all," Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in her Budget 2023 speech on February 1, 2024.

The term ‘Amrit Kaal’, first used by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2021, comes from Vedic astrology and indicates a sort of golden era. 

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, now the leader of opposition (LoP) in Lok Sabha, had reacted to the Budget by calling it a ‘Mitr Kaal’ Budget which does not do anything to tackle unemployment, inflation or inequality. By ‘Mitr Kaal’, Gandhi perhaps suggested that the Modi government’s budget favoured Prime Minister's industrialist ‘friends’ (English for Mitr).

Gandhi claimed that Budget 2023-24 proved that the Narendra Modi-led government has no roadmap to build India’s future. He attacked the government, alleging that the wealth owned by the top 1 per cent richest people in India constituted over 40 per cent of the total wealth in the country, while the bottom 50 per cent Indians contributed 64 percent of the total GST collected.

“‘Mitr Kaal’ Budget has: No vision to create jobs; no plan to tackle mehngai; no intent to stem inequality. 1% richest own 40% wealth, 50% poorest pay 64% of GST, 42% youth are unemployed- yet, PM doesn’t care! This Budget proves government has no roadmap to build India’s future,” Rahul Gandhi tweeted.