“Lots of repetition and rambling, Budget speech was very long”: Rahul Gandhi’s ‘constructive’ criticism on Union Budget 2020

Former Congress President Rahul Gandhi (Photo Credits: BBC)

Gandhi-scion Rahul Gandhi, who is on a verge making yet another comeback in politics on Saturday reacted to Union Budget – 2020. He said the Union Budget was all talk with lots of repetition and rambling. The former Congress President also attacked the Finance Minister for delivering a lengthy budget speech.

“There was no strategic idea or anything concrete in the Union Budget and said that the budget described the hollow approach of the government,” Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said shortly after the presentation of Budget by finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday.

https://twitter.com/RahulGandhi/status/1223549869622583297?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
The Congress leader said the budget was very long and it was probably the longest speech ever which saw tactical stuff but no central idea. He said that the speech was over two and a hours long, but there was no strategic issue.

“The main issue is unemployment. I did not see any concrete, strategic idea that could help our youngsters get jobs. There were redundant things in the budget and I did not see any central idea,” he said.

“It describes the government quite well. There is a lot of repetition, a lot of rambling and nothing concrete. It describes the mindset of the government, all talk and nothing concrete,” he added.

Meanwhile, senior Congress leader and former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who also served as the Finance Minister, said that the budget speech was a long one and he is yet to absorb it. 

However, Gandhi-scion seems to have absorbed most of the speech within a very short span of time, who launched personal attacks on Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman by claiming that she was rambling during her speech. The former Congress President chose to attack the government politically instead of criticising the Modi government on policy issues.

On Saturday, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman tabled her second Budget in Parliament. Presenting the Budget 2020 in Lok Sabha, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday said the budget is “to boost the income and purchasing power of people.”

Responding to fears of a recession in the country, Sitharaman said the fundamentals of the economy are strong and that inflation has been well contained. The budget 2020-21 will focus on three themes — Aspirational India, Economic Development For All and A Caring Society.” FM Sitharaman said.

The Modi government unveiled plans for India’s highways and railways, proposing Rs 1.7 trillion for transport infrastructure that includes the accelerated development of highways and plans to monetize 12 lots of highway bundles.

The farm and rural sectors were allocated Rs 2.83 trillion, while the agriculture credit target for next year is set at Rs 15 trillion. The government also announced the developing Bharat Net – a program to bring broadband to villages. The government plans to provide Rs 60 billion for the project by next year.

In a big relief to middle-class taxpayers of the country, the Modi government offered a sharp reduction in tax rates for those who do not avail of any exemptions. The Budget proposed the creation of a new income tax regime to simplify the process of calculating the tax on personal income.

Through her budget, Finance Minister Sitharaman outlined the Modi government’s plans to deal with the challenges posed by the downward spiral of the economy and achieve the Rs 5 trillion economy target by 2025.

OpIndia Staff: Staff reporter at OpIndia