Budget 2021 | Thumbs down from Opposition; calls Union Budget 'visionless'

FY21 fiscal deficit pegged at 9.5% of GDP. Further, the FY22 fiscal deficit has been pegged at 6.8% of GDP. Gross market borrowing target is at Rs 12 lakh crore for FY22. We will approach the market for additional Rs 80,000 crore to fund FY21 fiscal deficit. We hope to get back on the fiscal consolidation path by FY26.

Opposition parties gave thumbs down to the Union Budget, presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on February 1, blaming the Centre for failing to come up with a clear road map to recover the economy.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said that the budget had nothing for common people.

Forget putting cash in the hands of people, Modi Govt plans to handover India's assets to his crony capitalist friends.#Budget2021

Story continues below Advertisement

Remove Ad

— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) February 1, 2021

Aam Aadmi Party leader and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal alleged that the budget benefited corporates.

यह बजट चंद बड़ी कम्पनियों को फ़ायदा पहुंचाने वाला बजट है।

Related stories

• 
  PM Modi meets Australian counterpart, discusses cooperation in defence & security, critical mine...
• 
  India reopens tourist visa for Chinese citizens after 5-year freeze
• 
  OPINION | Indian cricket is caught in a web of its own making

ये बजट महंगाई के साथ आम जन-मानस की समस्याएं बढ़ाने का काम करेगा।

— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) February 1, 2021

Congress leader Anand Sharma called it a ‘disappointing’ budget without a road map for the revival of consumer demand. “The nation needed a bold budget & more direct transfers to the weaker sections to revive demand, restart job creation,” he said.

#Budget2021 is disappointing as it is without a roadmap for accelerating growth & revival of consumer demand. The FM could have been brave but chose to be timid. The nation needed a bold budget & more direct transfers to the weaker sections to revive demand, restart job creation.

— Anand Sharma (@AnandSharmaINC) February 1, 2021

The Union Budget 2021-22 came out with a host of demand-side measures, with an intention to create jobs primarily through big infrastructure announcements.

Manish Tewari, another Congress leader said that the Budget lacked central focus. 

Follow Moneycontrol's Budget 2021 live coverage

Many opposition members raised slogans over the farmers' protest as soon as  Sitharaman began her speech. Congress MPs Jasbir Singh Gill and Gurjeet Singh Aujla were seen wearing a black gown to the Parliament as a mark of protest against the three contentious farm laws, which has led to lakhs of farmers agitating near Delhi's borders for over two months.

"There are announcements for poll-bound states," Congress MP Karti Chidambaram said. Another Congress leader Hibi Eden called it a "purely political budget."

Sitharaman announced infra push for poll-bound West Bengal, Assam, Tamil Nadu & Kerala.  Assembly elections in these states are scheduled later this year.

TMC leader Derek O' Brien called it a "100% visionless budget"

India’s first paperless budget is also a 100% visionless budget.Theme of the fake budget is Sell India!

Railways:sold
Airports:sold
Ports: sold
Insurance: sold
PSUs:23 sold!

Common people ignored. Farmers ignored.

Rich get richer,nothing for middle class,poor get poorer (1/3)

— Derek O'Brien | ডেরেক ও'ব্রায়েন (@derekobrienmp) February 1, 2021

This BJP government reminds me of the garage mechanic who told his client, “I couldn’t fix your brakes, so I made your horn louder.” #Budget2021

— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) February 1, 2021

Shiv Sena leader Priyanka Chaturvedi called it a 'manifesto promises to election going states'

-No tax relief for salaried class
-Nothing much for women except the lip service towards existing schemes
-Nothing much fr children who lost out on their studies due to exacerbated digital divide
What we have
-new Privatisation targets
-manifesto promises to election going states

— Priyanka Chaturvedi (@priyankac19) February 1, 2021

Earlier in the day, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had highlighted sectors that the government 'must' focus in the Budget, including MSME. Gandhi also urged on the need to generate employment for the farmers and workers in the country and increase expenditure in the healthcare and defense sectors.