'Anti-poor...detached from reality': Opposition parties slam Budget 2026
What's the story
Opposition parties have slammed the Union Budget 2026, calling it "anti-poor" and "detached" from reality. Among those criticizing the budget was Trinamool Congress National General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee. He noted that Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's 85-minute speech didn't mention West Bengal even once. Banerjee called the budget "faceless, baseless and visionless," accusing the central government of ignoring Bengal due to its political calculations ahead of the upcoming state polls.
Corporate bias
CPI(M) warns of deepening inequality due to budget cuts
Communist Party of India (Marxist) General Secretary MA Baby also slammed the budget, saying it showed the government's "blind commitment" to a few corporate houses. He called cuts in fertilizer, food, and petroleum subsidies a "naked assault" on workers and peasants. Baby warned that transfers to states had fallen "by lakhs of crores," undermining fiscal federalism, further arguing that the Budget would deepen inequality and worsen the ongoing economic crisis.
Budget vagueness
Raja accuses Sitharaman of obscuring funding cuts
Communist Party of India General Secretary D Raja also criticized the budget for being "detached from the concerns of the masses" and "deliberately vague." He accused Sitharaman of avoiding scheme-wise allocations to obscure funding cuts. Raja said that despite an emphasis on domestic consumption in the Economic Survey, there was no push to stimulate demand. He added that the government had ignored demands for a legal MSP and continued to push anti-labor policies.
State neglect
Mamata Banerjee calls Sitharaman's speech 'directionless'
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee also slammed the budget, calling it "directionless, visionless, and anti-people." "This Budget is directionless, visionless, actionless, and anti-people. It is also anti-women, anti-farmer, anti-education, and against the SC, ST, and OBC... There is nothing on offer for Bengal... in the Humpty Dumpty budget," PTI quoted her as saying. Earlier, Rahul Gandhi said the Budget had failed to address India's "real crises," including unemployment, declining manufacturing output, investor pullouts and rural distress.