FM Sitharaman says Rahul Gandhi 'shoots from his hip', questions basis of his Budget 2026 criticism

FM Nirmala Sitharaman in an interview with Network18 Group Editor-in-Chief Rahul Joshi

• Sitharaman criticized Rahul Gandhi's budget remarks as lacking solid data
• Gandhi called the Union Budget 2026-27 "blind to India's real crises"
• Sitharaman highlighted focus on manufacturing, infrastructure, and job creation

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Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman hit back at Leader of Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi’s criticism of the Union Budget 2026-27, saying he often speaks without solid groundwork, in an interview with Network18 Group Editor-in-Chief Rahul Joshi on Monday.

While acknowledging Gandhi’s position as leader of the opposition, Sitharaman said that he frequently makes sweeping statements that lack what she described as “good foundational data”.

“He is the leader of the opposition. But most often I think he shoots from his hip. He doesn’t use good foundational data to make his points,” Sitharaman said.

She recalled Gandhi’s past remark about a “dead economy”, arguing that the comment, made in haste, undermined his own credibility. “That one comment on the dead economy made in haste that itself pushed the carpet under his feet. He speaks without any basis. He speaks out of thin air. India deserves a better opposition,” she added.

Her remarks came after Gandhi described the Union Budget 2026-27 as “blind to India’s real crises”.

Hours after FM Sitharaman presented the budget on Sunday, Gandhi took to X and wrote, “Youth without jobs. Falling manufacturing. Investors pulling out capital. Household savings plummeting. Farmers in distress. Looming global shocks -- all ignored.”

He further said the budget was “a Budget that refuses course correction, blind to India’s real crises.”

Backing Gandhi’s assessment, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said the Modi government was running out of ideas and that the budget raised more questions than it answered.

“It offers nothing for the poor. They have not presented any solution, positive suggestion, or concrete steps to control inflation,” Kharge said, pointing to trade uncertainty, the falling value of the rupee, declining domestic savings, and rising personal debt as issues the budget had failed to address. He also said there was “no solution to the widespread unemployment crisis among educated youth”.

Sitharaman, however, underlined that the budget focuses on manufacturing, infrastructure and job creation, alongside a simpler tax and customs system. She described the government’s modernisation push as a “reform express” and announced that the capital expenditure target would be raised to Rs 12.2 lakh crore for FY27, up from Rs 11.2 lakh crore in the current fiscal year.

The finance minister also outlined measures to strengthen infrastructure, including in tier-2 and tier-3 cities, noting that the budget had been framed against the backdrop of global uncertainties, trade frictions, and US tariffs.