Budget 2026 Slammed for Ignoring Poor, Farmers and Jobs
By KUNAL CHATTERJEE
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman unveiled the Union Budget 2026 today, but opposition leaders and critics wasted no time calling it a big disappointment. They say it overlooks India's real problems like rising prices, job losses, and struggling farmers, leaving ordinary people high and dry.
Many slammed the budget for ignoring farmers. Rahul Gandhi of Congress said it's "blind to India's real crises," with no new promises on minimum support prices (MSP) or income guarantees that farmers have demanded for years.
Akhilesh Yadav, Samajwadi Party chief, added that it skips the poor and middle class entirely. No extra funds for health, education, or fighting inflation, just more perks for big businesses and the rich.
He pointed out rising inequality, now worse than during British rule, with no help for SC/ST/OBC groups or rural workers under schemes like MGNREGA.
Middle-class workers feel cheated too. Salaried employees and small traders got no real tax relief, even as city living costs soar. Mallikarjun Kharge, Congress president, called it a "visionless" budget from a government out of fresh ideas.
Priyanka Chaturvedi of Shiv Sena (UBT) labeled it "disappointing," blind to global slowdowns hitting Indian families.
Youth unemployment stole the show in complaints. TMC's Abhishek Banerjee said it's "faceless and visionless," talking AI but doing nothing for millions of jobless young people. Small businesses groaned about high compliance costs – think 480 reasons to fear jail and extra lakhs in yearly expenses, way more than in China.
A new hike in Securities Transaction Tax could scare away stock market investors, hurting savings for regular folks.
Other gripes piled up fast. Samajwadi MPs from UP complained of snubs to key states, no new expressways, farm funds, or big projects.
Critics say it's all fancy words with no fixes for everyday pains like unemployment or unequal wealth, where the top 5% keep winning while the rest struggle.
While the ruling NDA parties clapped for growth targets, voices from Congress, TMC, SP, and others say this budget brings no joy to common lives. As debates heat up in Parliament, many wonder if it really touches the India's ground realities or just stays in the clouds.
