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Union Budget 2025: The Opposition has slammed the Budget 2025 for being Bihar-centric and ignoring key issues like MSP for farmers, while the BJP praised it for prioritising welfare, infrastructure, and economic growth.
Union Budget 2025: Leaders react to Nirmala Sitharaman’s announcements (Photos: ANI/PTI)
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday presented her eighth straight Budget in the Lok Sabha and exempted annual income of up to Rs 12 lakh from income tax, as she rejigged tax slabs as part of her reformist Budget.
Sitharaman also laid out a blueprint for next-generation reforms including raising the FDI limit in the insurance sector, simplification of tax laws, and cutting duties on intermediaries while providing enhanced fiscal support for welfare measures.
On the fiscal consolidation roadmap, Nirmala Sitharaman projected the fiscal deficit to come down to 4.4 per cent of the GDP in the financial year 2025-26.
However, as Sitharaman began her Budget 2025 speech, the Parliament witnessed an uproar by the Opposition, with many demanding a discussion on the stampede at the Maha Kumbh Mela this week, in which 30 people died.
Many of the Opposition leaders also raised slogans against Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government before some of them walked out of the Parliament.
As the Finance Minister concluded her budget speech, leaders of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) hailed it and termed it “growth-oriented”.
Here’s how Union Ministers praised the Union Budget 2025.
Home Minister Amit Shah: In an X post, Amit Shah wrote, “The middle class is always in PM Modi’s heart. Zero Income Tax till ₹12 Lakh Income. The proposed tax exemption will go a long way in enhancing the financial well-being of the middle class. Congratulations to all the beneficiaries on this occasion.”
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh: “I congratulate the Finance Minister Mrs. Nirmala Sitharaman, who has presented a wonderful budget towards fulfilling the resolve of Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi. This budget will promote the development of youth, poor, farmers, women as well as all sections and regions of the society. Keeping in mind the contribution of the middle class, this budget has brought an unprecedented gift. I wholeheartedly welcome the decision to give income tax relief on annual income up to Rs 12 lakh,” he wrote on X.
Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan: “I want to express my gratitude to PM Modi and Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman from the depth of my heart. She announced various schemes — 50 Atal tinkering labs were made, Poshan 2.0 will begin in Saksham Anganwadi, Bharatiya Bhasha Pustak Scheme has been launched. All of this is the government’s effort to take our youth to a new high,” he said.
Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan: “This budget is for the formation of self-reliant India. Priority has been given to the agriculture sector and farmers. Now, farmers can avail up to Rs 5 lakhs on a Kisan Credit Card. Many gifts have been given to the farmers,” he told reporters.
Union Minister Kiren Rijiju: “Elections keep coming every year. How can the opposition call it a ‘Chunavi’ Budget? Is Bihar not a part of our country? The Opposition should welcome if something concrete is being done for Bihar under the leadership of PM Modi. They should not do such negative politics,” he told reporters.
Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia: Commenting on the Union Budget 2025, Scindia said, “This budget is for Viksit Bharat and the PM’s resolve to fulfil the dream of a new and energetic India. A new map has been drawn after having a proper study of every sector. It’s a composite budget that will take India forward and not only make India self-reliant but establish it as the Vishwaguru.”
Union Minister Jitendra Singh: “It’s a middle-class focused budget with a lot of tax reliefs. Some of the aspects that are not being immediately discussed are some futuristic decisions that were never expected from India. One of them is the nuclear energy mission suggested by the Prime Minister and announced by the Finance Minister. The Nuclear Energy Mission is not only going to add value to the Indian economy but will give us a lead ahead of several other countries,” he said.
UP Deputy CM Keshav Prasad Maurya: “The first Union Budget 2025-26 presented by Hon’ble Finance Minister Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman ji of the third term of the Modi government today under the leadership of Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi is a budget that aims at welfare of the poor, employment to the youth, women empowerment and increase in the income of the farmers. This budget is dedicated to accelerating agricultural development and productivity, prosperity of the poor in villages, income tax exemption, promotion of Make in India, making women entrepreneurial, good health, MSME and innovation, infrastructure development,” he wrote on X.
BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra: “There will be no income tax payable up to an income of Rs 12 lakh. This limit will be Rs 12.75 lakh for salaried taxpayers, with a standard deduction of Rs 75,000. The new structure will substantially reduce the taxes of the middle class, boosting consumption, savings and investment,” he wrote on X.
Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari: In an X post, Gadkari wrote, “A transformative blueprint for empowering farmers, the middle class, and MSMEs, paving the way for Viksit Bharat 2047. This progressive roadmap strengthens key sectors, ensuring inclusive growth through strategic investments and transformative policies.”
Union Minister Nityanand Rai: Speaking to reporters, Rai said, “Bihar has also got priority and big projects have been announced for the state. This budget is for the welfare of poor, farmers and to help the middle class. It is such that it will generate employment opportunities. The announcement of the Makahna Board was special, and also for the projects that were announced for the region of Koshi River. I thank Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Finance Minister on behalf of the people of Bihar.”
Bihar BJP chief Dilip Jaiswal: On being asked to comment on the Union Budget 2025, Jaiswal said, “Bihar has been taken care of in the budget. There is a discussion in the budget about starting an airport under the Udan scheme for Bihar, building a medical college and an expressway. Bihar has been taken great care of in the budget. The central government is helping in every way for the development of Bihar.”
BJP MP Ravi Kishan: Commenting on the Union Budget 2025, the BJP MP said, “A wonderful budget has been presented for the poor, the middle class and for everyone. I would like to congratulate PM Modi and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman ji for presenting a wonderful budget.”
Bihar Minister Mangal Pandey: “I want to thank PM Modi, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Minister of Agriculture Shivraj Singh Chouhan on behalf of lakhs of farmers of Bihar who cultivate foxnuts. These farmers have been demanding the formation of a Makhana Board for a very long time, just like there is a Tea Board and Rubber Board. We requested the formation of this board when Shivraj Singh Chouhan came to Patna recently and today that dream of foxnut cultivating farmers has been fulfilled through the announcement by the Finance Minister during Union Budget 2025,” he said.
JD(U) MP Sanjay Kumar Jha: “The biggest announcement for Bihar is that it will have a greenfield airport. It is a huge announcement. A Makhana Board will be formed, 85-90% of Makhana is cultivated in the Mithila area, Kosi area. Overall, these announcements are very positive for Bihar. Taxation relief up to Rs 12 lakh is a major relief,” he said.
Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Dhami: In an X post, the Chief Minister wrote, “A big gift for the middle class. Under the visionary and strong leadership of respected Prime Minister Narendra Modiji, an important decision has been taken to make the income of Rs 12 lakh tax-free under the Union Budget 2025-26, giving a big relief to the middle class.”
Former PM HD Devegowda: “She (Union Finance Minister) has taken several good points to give benefit to various sectors including the middle class, medical sector. I welcome this budget,” the Rajya Sabha MP said.
Union Minister Sukanta Majumdar: “This budget is a common man’s budget. It focuses on women, farmers and youth. Our government has made a provision to benefit 22 lakh employees of MSMEs. Zero customs duty has been imposed on 36 medicines that treat cancer and rare diseases. This is a very revolutionary step,” he said.
Union Minister Raksha Khadse: “The Prime Minister of our country has tried to bring women forward. Today, women in rural areas are becoming self-reliant and capable. Through this budget, we will see the fulfilment of the resolution of a developed India by 2047, taken by PM Modi,” he said.
BJP Rajya Sabha MP Dinesh Sharma: “Today’s budget is a golden day for all the middle-class citizens. This has proved to be a boon for the middle-class income. There is no tax up to Rs 12 lakh. Our budgetary deficit is decreasing, this is a good thing,” he told reporters.
Here’s how the Opposition reacted to the Union Budget 2025.
Congress MP Manish Tewari: Speaking to the media following the budget announcements, Manish Tewari said, “I fail to understand if this a budget of the government of India or was this a budget of the government of Bihar? Have you heard the name of another state than Bihar in the entire budgetary speech of the Union Finance Minister?”
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor: “I think frankly the applause you heard was for the middle-class tax cut. We look at the details and that may be a good thing. So if you have a salary you may be paying less tax. But the important question is what happens if we don’t have a salary? Where is the income going to come from? Unemployment was not mentioned by the Finance Minister.” he said.
TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee: “There is nothing for the common man in the budget. As you know there are elections in Bihar this year, so keeping that in mind, the budget has been presented for Bihar. Everything has been given to Bihar. For the last 10 years, BJP has been in power and Bengal has not got anything, it is sad and unfortunate,” he said as he spoke to reporters.
Karnataka Minister Priyank Kharge: “Nirmala Sitharam ji please show some mercy to Indians. This government has a very nasty habit of announcing and making headlines. Completely different things we find in print. What happened to GST?” he asked.
AAP leader Anurag Dhanda: “I believe the middle class is disappointed with the budget presented by the central government. Arvind Kejriwal had made seven demands for the middle class. We had demanded an increase in education and health budget, but that’s not visible anywhere,” he said.
Shiromani Akali Dal MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal: Slamming this year’s budget, Harsimrat Kaur Badal termed it ‘anti-farmer’ and said, “Look at the names of the states – Bihar, which is going to elections. Only Bihar, Bihar, Bihar. There was no mention of Punjab. Farmers have been sitting in protest for the past four years over the legal guarantee for MSP. What did they announce for farmers? Makhana Board. This was an anti-farmer budget. Farmers who are fighting for their rights were not heard, this is sad.”
Former Chhattisgarh CM leader Bhupesh Baghel: “The value of the rupee has fallen. So even if they have increased the difference, it’s not going to make much difference. There was nothing in the budget for the middle class, farmers, or the poor. There was nothing in the budget for infrastructure. It is an impractical budget,” he said while talking to reporters.
Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi: “This is the weakest budget in the last 10 years. We want a discussion on the Kumbh stampede in Parliament,” he said.
AAP MP Sanjay Singh: “What benefit are small traders getting from this? You have not given any tax relief on their income of Rs 12 lakh. Arvind Kejriwal had demanded that if you decide that you will not waive the loans of industrialists, you will not waive the loans of your capitalist friends and you recover the loan of Rs 16 lakh crore that has been waived so far, then the GST rates and income tax rates in the country can be halved. The middle class of this country, the common man of this country can get a huge relief. But this was not done,” he said.
Congress MP Kiran Kumar Chamala: “In the budget, when we talk about the states which she has given we have seen Bihar has given a lot of importance whereas we are also looking forward states like Telangana that it has to get a lot of importance. We will see what was the total depth of it (budget). I think again it has got some political thing there we can really see there is a political agenda in today’s total budget speech,” he said.
Samajwadi Party MP Dimple Yadav: “Nothing new was there in the budget. Samajwadi Party demands that the government give the details of all those devotees who lost their lives in Maha Kumbh. We demand the state govt to tell the reason behind the tragedy,” she said.
DMK MP Dayanidhi Maran: On the budget 2025, Maran said, “It’s a very disappointing budget and seemed planned to woo the voters for Delhi before the elections. The Finance Minister has given a big exemption saying that for Rs 12 lakh, there is no tax. Then she goes on to say that there is a slab of 10% for Rs 8-12 lakh. So, it is very confusing. I think the devil is in the details.”