Congress MP Shashi Tharoor slams Interim Budget

Tharoor said that Sitharaman used "vague" and "rhetorical language" in her address.

"It was one of the shortest speeches on record in the Budget. Not very much came out of it. As usual, a lot of rhetorical language, and very little concrete implementation... She talked about foreign investment without acknowledging that that investment has come down significantly," Tharoor told news agency ANI on Thursday.

The MP from Thiruvananthapuram said that the Finance Minister "talked about a number of things couched in vague language, like 'confidence' and 'hope' and so on."

"But when it comes to hard figures, very few figures available...This is going to be a very disappointing speech in terms of being couched entirely in generalities and without enough substance nor any willingness to address the specific problems of the economy," Tharoor added.

Congress MP Manish Tewari described the Interim Budget FY25 a vote-on-account with the only objective to keep the government solvent for the first quarter.

He said that budget deficit of Rs 18 lakh crore is a worrying issue and it would only increase next year.

Congress National Spokesperson, Supriya Shrinate said that the budget had “nothing for common people, employment, agriculture, women... Nirmala Sitharaman said that income has increased by 50 percent but government data says that real income has decreased by 25 percent..."

According to the report, DMK MP T Siva said, "They are waiting for the next full Budget, which we will come and present. INDIA alliance will win and we will present the best budget after the net elections."

Shiv Sena (UBT) also echoed the same opinion. Party MP Priyanka Chaturvedi said, "There is a huge difference between saying and doing, this is what we have been seeing for the last 10 years.”

The term "budget deficit" denotes a scenario in which a government's overall expenditures surpass its total revenues within a defined period, such as a financial year. This signifies that the government is spending more funds than it is generating through various sources.

During her speech, Sitharaman covered critical topics related to inclusive development, infrastructure, green growth, youth power, and the financial sector. She announced the government's intention to elevate the capital expenditure outlay by 11.1 percent to Rs 11.11 lakh crore in the fiscal year 2024-25.