'Booster Shot' or 'Betrayal of Middle Class'? Political Leaders Weigh In on FM Sitharaman's Budget 2022

Reactions from political corners came in thick and fast after Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Union Budget 2022 on Tuesday. While leaders in the ruling BJP hailed the budget, calling it a “booster shot for the economy”, “inclusive” and “good for the common man”, Opposition parties such as the Congress and Trinamool Congress (TMC) lashed out by saying the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Centre had “betrayed” salaried and middle classes. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi called the budget “zero-sum” on Twitter, while in a strong reaction, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said it was “a damp squib”.

Union Minister Amit Shah said this “visionary” budget will help in making India the world’s leading economy under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi. In a series of tweets in Hindi, Shah said the budget will change the scale of India’s economy.

Calling the move to promote research and development excellent, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said, “Substantial amounts have been allocated towards research and development in several sectors including defence. The proposal to reserve 25 per cent of the R&D budget for startups and private entities is an excellent move.”

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath stood firmly behind the budget, calling it “progressive” especially for farmers, women and youth. “This is a progressive budget; benefits all sections especially farmers, women, youth. Important announcements such as MSP, measures to double farmers income, 60 lakh jobs for youth, measures for women empowerment such as Mission Shakti will boost our economy,” Adityanath was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.

Railways minister Ashwini Vaishnaw thanked PM Modi for higher investment in the railways. He said railways will introduce new products and services for small farmers and small enterprises.

Union Minister Kiren Rijiju said Sitharaman’s budget was inclusive and took care of every section of society. “This is a very good Budget. It is a very inclusive Budget that takes care of the interests of every section of society including the poor, rural and border areas, and the people living in the Northeast,” Rijiju was quoted as saying by ANI.

Former minister of state finance Jayant Sinha called the budget pro-growth and focused on controlling inflation. “It’s a pro-growth Budget that emphasises capital expenditure, the virtuous investment cycle that’ll power GDP growth forward. It is a deflationary budget. It will keep inflation under control. As a result of that there will tremendous job creation,” Sinha was quoted as saying by ANI.

Calling the budget good for the common man, BJP MP Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore said it was a booster shot for the economy. “This is a very good budget for the common man… with an increase of 35 per cent in infrastructure, to automatically accelerate the economy. It’s a booster shot that will pace up manufacturing in the country, keeping the country’s money in the country,” Rathore was quoted as saying by ANI.

Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari, too, was all praise. “Priority given to agriculture, rural areas, welfare of all sectors followed by a focus on infrastructure. Introduction of ‘Parvat Mala’ project in my ministry is a great gift for hilly areas; will create jobs. Thankful to FM for this excellent Budget,” said Gadkari.

Calling it a “‘Garib Kalyan’ Budget”, BJP national president JP Nadda said, “Budget 2022-23 is a ‘Garib Kalyan’ Budget. It will empower the poor and labourers. This Budget is dedicated to the development of infrastructure, rural and hilly areas, and Northeast. This Budget is in line with government’s policy of social justice and equality. Budget 2022-23 is the poor welfare budget. This budget is not a one-year development agenda, but a blueprint for the next 25 years of the country. Increasing the size of the budget to 39.45 lakh crore shows the growing economy of India even during the Corona period.”

The Congress, meanwhile, accused Sitharaman and Prime Minister Modi of betraying the country’s salaried and middle classes by not announcing any relief measures for them in the Union Budget. Rahul dubbed the budget as a “zero-sum budget”, saying it had nothing for the salaried, middle class and the poor. His comments came soon after Sitharaman presented the Union Budget in Parliament. “M0di G0vernment’s Zer0 Sum Budget! Nothing for – Salaried class, Middle class, the poor and deprived, Youth, Farmers and MSMEs,” Gandhi said on Twitter.

Addressing a presser, senior Congress leader and former finance minister P Chidambaram said, “Today’s budget speech was the most capitalist speech any finance minister has read till now”.

Congress general secretary and chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said the salaried and the middle classes have been affected due to pay cuts and high inflation.

“India’s salaried class and middle class were hoping for relief in times of pandemic, all round pay cuts and back breaking inflation. FM and PM have again deeply disappointed them in direct tax measures,” Surjewala said on Twitter. In his initial remarks, he said, “This is a betrayal of India’s Salaried Class and Middle Class. #Budget2022.”

The Trinamool Congress also accused the central government of not taking into account needs of the common man. West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee tweeted, “Budget has zero for common people, who are getting crushed by unemployment & inflation. Govt is lost in big words signifying nothing – a Pegasus spin budget.”

The CPI(M), on the other hand, questioned the Centre on the “purpose” of the 2022 Budget. General secretary Sitaram Yechury asked why the wealthy have not been taxed further. He said the budget did not tinker with personal income tax rates, and that it did not raise standard deduction, which was widely anticipated in view of elevated inflation levels and impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the middle class.

“Budget for whom? The richest 10% Indians owns 75% of the country’s wealth. Bottom 60% own less than 5%. Why are those who amassed super profits during the pandemic, while joblessness, poverty & hunger have grown, not being taxed more?” Yechury asked in a tweet.

Yechury also called the budget a “criminal assault on the youth”. “India has 200 million missing jobs today. No urban employment guarantee announced. MGNREGA allocation remains the same as last year ₹73Kcr, which fell short by nearly ₹50Kcr. A criminal assault on the livelihood of our youth. #Budget2022”

In a strong reaction, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said the budget was a damp squib. “Extremely disappointing, a damp squib! There seems to be absolutely nothing in this budget. It’s an astonishingly disappointing budget. When you listen to the speech, no mention of MNREGA, of defence, of any other urgent priorities facing the public,” Tharoor was quoted as saying by ANI.

Echoing the Congress sentiment, Tharoor said there was no tax relief for the middle class. “We are facing terrible inflation and there’s no tax relief for the middle class. This is a Budget that seems to be pushing the mirage of ‘achhe din’ even farther away. Now it’s India at 100, we’ll have to wait for 25 more yrs for ‘acche din’ to arrive,” he added.

Congress chief whip in Rajya Sabha, Jairam Ramesh alleged that the Modi-led government was on a “destructive path” as it talks of protecting the environment on the one hand but is promoting ecologically disastrous river-linking projects on the other. “On the one hand, the Budget talks of climate action and protecting the environment. On the other, it pushes ecologically disastrous river-linking projects. Rhetoric sounds nice. But actions matter more. On that front, the Modi government is on a destructive path,” he said on Twitter. Ramesh served as the environment minister during the UPA government.

Sitharaman presented the Budget 2022 and tabled the finance Bill 2022 to the Parliament. The budget could turn out to be a disappointment for salaried taxpayers, as little to no changes were brought into effect in terms of income tax. Sitharaman gave her shortest budget speech to date. This is the fourth straight time she has presented the budget.

(With PTI inputs)

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