Union Budget 2023, political reactions live | Nothing in the Budget for poor people and to control inflation: Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge

Congress General Secretary K.C. Venugopal said that the Budget 2023 does not reflect the real sentiments of the people such as unemployment and price rise.

He further said that the Union Budget is filled with fancy announcements whose implementation is under question.

“This budget is not addressing the real sentiment of the country that is unemployment and price rise. It only had fancy announcements that were made earlier too but what about implementation? Only insurance companies were benefited from PM Kisan Yojana not farmers,” said Mr. Venugopal.

Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya termed the Union Budget 2023 a step towards achieving the Amrit Kaal vision and said that the budget promises to free the country from sickle cell anaemia when India celebrates 100 years of its independence.

“An important announcement was made in this budget for the Ministry of Health. A government laboratory will be opened for those doing research in the health sector. The country should be free from sickle cell anaemia when it will be celebrating its 100 years of independence,” Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya told ANI.

“Sickle cell anemia is a major disease among the tribal population. Seven crore people below the age group of 40 years will be screened for this disease,” Mr. Mandaviya added.

Mr. Mandivya further informed that 157 Medical Colleges have been opened across the country since 2014.Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, during her budget speech in Parliament, said that the Central Government aims to eliminate sickle cell anaemia by 2047, and a mission will soon be launched in this regard.

The mission will create awareness among the common people with universal screening of seven crore people in the age group of 0 to 40 years in the tribal areas and counselling through collaborative efforts of Central Ministries and State Governments.

The Centre has presented the Union Budget keeping in mind the 2024 parliamentary elections, said Samajwadi Party MP Dimple Yadav on Wednesday.

“It’s a Budget presented keeping the elections in mind. While the government has given some relaxations to the middle class, it has not said anything about the Minimum Support Price for farmers, employment and youth,” Ms. Dimple Yadav told ANI after the House adjourned for the day.

She further said that the budget has been “disappointing” and they have also ignored the Railways.”Railways are also ignored in this budget. It has been a disappointing budget,” Ms. Dimple Yadav added.

With the government announcing an allocation of ₹7,000 crore for the launch of the third phase of the e-Courts project in the Union Budget 2023-24, Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju on Wednesday described the move as “unprecedented”, saying it will improve justice delivery system and pave the way for a “paperless” digital environment.

Mr. Rijiju made a series of tweets to hail the Union Budget 2023 -24. “Unprecedented - allocation to create paperless courts for faster delivery of justice. I thank PM Narendra Modi ji and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman ji for timely announcing critical eCourts Phase-III Project with an outlay of ₹7,000 crore in Budget for 2023-24,” tweeted Mr. Rijiju.

He said the digitisation of entire Court records would serve to pave the way for a completely paperless environment in the future. Mr. Rijiju said the move will ensure ‘Ease of Justice’ and further improve the justice delivery system that PM Modi has always envisioned. The Minister attributed the success of eCourts Project to Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud.

“I also compliment the Chief Justice of India, D.Y. Chandrachud ji who as the Chairperson of the eCommittee of the Supreme Court of India has been instrumental in the success of the earlier phases of the eCourts Project and who personally supervised and mentored formulation of the DPR of the Phase-III of the Project,” Mr. Rijiju said.

The eCourts Project Phase-III is the continuation of achievements that have been made during Phase-I and Phase-II of the project which allowed the wheels of our judiciary to turn even during the Covid-19 pandemic when the Courts had to be closed following the lockdown, he said. The Law Minister further said the project envisages various path-breaking initiatives like Digital and Paperless Courts that aim to bring court proceedings under a digital format in a court, thereby, limiting the use of paper and speeding up the disposal of the cases

“Online Court that focuses on eliminating the presence of litigants or lawyers in the court, expansion of scope of Virtual Courts beyond adjudication of Traffic Violations, use of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning which would allow for data analysis to work towards reduction in pendency and understanding litigation patterns, forecasting future needs etc,” he tweeted.

Mr. Rijiju said 4,400 fully functional eSewa Kendras will provide assistance to all lawyers and litigants. Live streaming of Court hearings would allow for further transparency in judicial proceedings.

An Online Dispute Resolution platform, the Law Minister said it will encourage alternate dispute resolution and a robust Video Conferencing System will create seamless connectivity between the Jails and Courts, allowing for all bail appearances over VC.

The Union Budget 2023 allocated ₹7,000 crore for the launch of the third phase of the eCourts project, aimed at digitizing the justice system. The announcement was made by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman while presenting her fifth consecutive Union Budget. The move was aimed at digitizing the justice system. ECourt project is believed to enhance judicial productivity, both qualitatively and quantitatively, to make the justice delivery system affordable, accessible, cost-effective, predictable, reliable and transparent.

The eCourts Mission Mode Project, is a Pan-India Project, monitored and funded by the Department of Justice, Ministry of Law and Justice, Government of India for the District Courts across the country.

The objective of the project is to provide efficient and time-bound citizen-centric services delivery and to develop, install and implement decision support systems in courts. It also automates the processes to provide transparency in the accessibility of information to its stakeholders.

Terming Union Budget 2023-24 an all-inclusive and visionary, Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah said it will give further impetus to the resolution of Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Central Government for a self-reliant India, taking every section along.

Mr. Shah made the statement through his series of posts on Twitter after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Budget 2023-24 in Parliament. This is Ms. Sitharaman’s fifth Budget presentation since 2019.

Mr. Shah congratulated the Prime Minister and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman for tabling that Budget, saying it lays a strong foundation for ‘Amrit Kaal’.

“The Budget-2023 brought by the Modi Government is a Budget that lays a strong foundation for Amrit Kaal. I am sure that this all-inclusive and visionary Budget will give further impetus to the resolve of the Modi Government for a self-reliant India, taking every section along,” said Mr. Shah.

The target of increasing the capital expenditure by 33% to ₹10 lakh crore and keeping the Fiscal Deficit at 5.9% is commendable, said the Home Minister, adding “This shows the foresight of the Modi Government to build a new India with strong infrastructure and a strong economy.”

“Thanks to Modi ji for giving huge tax relief to the middle and salaried class. The increase in tax rebate from ₹5 lakh to ₹7 lakh and unprecedented changes in tax slabs will greatly benefit the middle class.”

Along with this, Mr. Shah said he also welcomes the relief given to government employees. Pointing that the foundation of the bright future of any country is its educated and skilled young generation, the Home Minister said he heartily welcomes the decision to set up a National Digital Library to make books available to the youth. He said that the agriculture credit has been increased to ₹20 lakh crore.

“Agriculture Accelerator Fund will be created to encourage agri-startups by young entrepreneurs. Along with this, for the next three years, one crore farmers will be helped to do natural farming and 10,000 Bio Input Resource Centres will be set up.”

A Budget provision of ₹2.4 lakh crore has been made for the Railways, which will connect remote areas with the railways, mentioned the Home Minister.

Along with this, Mr. Shah said the decision to revive 50 airports, heliports, advanced landing grounds in the country will increase regional air connectivity, which will give a boost to tourism.

“In this Budget, it has been decided to start the PM Vishwakarma Kaushal Samman Yojana to make the country’s traditional artisans and craftsmen self-reliant. This decision will make a big difference in the lives of Vishwakarma by enabling them to enhance the quality and market reach of their products.”

Following the mantra of ‘Prosperity from Cooperation’, Mr. Shah said the Modi Government is working with a determined spirit to raise the standard of living of crores of people through cooperatives.”Today, the unprecedented decisions taken in the Budget to strengthen the cooperative sector are a symbol of this resolution,” said Mr. Shah.

With the plan to set up the world’s largest decentralised storage capacity in the Budget, the Cooperation Minister said farmers associated with cooperative societies will be able to store their produce and sell the produce at the right time and get a fair price. “This will play an important role in Modi ji’s resolve to increase the income of farmers.”

“Also, in the next five years, the government will facilitate the establishment of new multipurpose cooperative societies, primary fisheries societies and dairy cooperative societies in every panchayat. With this, the cooperative movement will get new direction and momentum, due to which this sector will be more empowered.”

Mr. Shah thanked Prime Minister Modi for keeping the co-operative societies in the manufacturing sector formed till March 31, 2024, in the ambit of only 15% tax.

“The decision to increase the maximum limit of TDS on cash withdrawal to ₹3 crore, to provide a limit of ₹2 lakh per member for cash deposits and loans by PACS and PCARDBs is commendable,” said Mr. Shah.

“Another important decision has been taken for the cooperative sector, in which sugar cooperatives have been given the facility to reflect the payments made to farmers before 2016-17 in their expenses. Due to this, cooperative sugar mills will get a relief of about ₹10,000 crore. I welcome this proposal.”

BJP national president J.P. Nadda praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman for delivering an inclusive, growth-oriented and visionary budget.

“I congratulate Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman ji and her entire team for this inclusive, growth oriented and visionary budget,” said Mr. Nadda.

“The first Union Budget of Amritkaal reflects PM Modi’s vision and foresight,” he added.

He said that the budget highlights the vision of PM Modi for the welfare of people.

“The budget highlights the core vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi as it brings out schemes for the welfare of our brothers and sisters who are at the bottom of the pyramid and at different levels of the pyramid,” said the BJP president.

He welcomed the increase in income tax rebate limit to ₹7 lakh from the current ₹5 lakh per year.

He hailed provisions for the digitisation of libraries, Mahila Samman Vikash Patra for women’s empowerment.

There is efficient implementation of schemes like Swaach Bharat, free vaccination for all, Ujjwala, Jan Dhan Yojana, PM Awas Yojana, food support and direct benefit transfer to farmers, insurance cover for weaker sections, he added.

Praising the Union Budget, Karnataka Health Minister K. Sudhakar on Wednesday said that the Budget is futuristic, growth-oriented and lays a strong foundation for 2047 when India will be celebrating 100 years of its independence.

“The first Budget of ‘Amrit Kaal’ presented by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is futuristic, growth-oriented and has laid a strong foundation for India @100 in 2047. The Budget has focussed on every sector and will benefit every section of society giving an impetus to the Aatmanibhar Bharat vision,” he said.

The Health Minister also stated that the Budget addressed the concerns of the hardworking salaried middle class by increasing the income tax exemption limit to 7 lakhs. “In a nutshell, the seven priorities of the Budget — inclusive development, reaching the last mile, infrastructure and investment, unleashing the potential of India, Green growth, banking on youth power and bolstering the finance sector, will take the country further on the growth trajectory,” he said.

The Minister also thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman for central assistance of ₹5,300 crore for the Upper Bhadra Project.

“This will immensely benefit the people of Chikkamagaluru, Chitradurga, Tumkur and Davangere districts by providing irrigation facilities to farmers and recharging the groundwater table to provide drinking water in drought-prone taluks of these districts,” he said.

He also lauded the Economic Survey 2023 tabled in the Parliament which showed that the central and State governments’ Budgeted expenditure in the health sector reached 2.1% of the gross domestic product (GDP) in 2022-23.

“This is in the direction of the vision of National Health Policy-2017, which has envisaged increasing the government’s health expenditure to 2.5% of GDP by 2025. The share of the government’s health expenditure in total health outlay has increased from 28.6% in 2014 to 40.6% in 2019. Thanks to Ayushman Bharat, the out-of-pocket expenditure [OOPE] as a share of total health expenditure came down to 48.2% in 2019 from 64.2% in 2014,” the Health Minister said.

K. Sudhakar also termed the Budget proposal to establish 157 new nursing colleges in co-location with the existing 157 medical colleges established since 2014 as a welcome move to address the increasing human resource needs in the healthcare sector.

“The mission to eliminate Sickle Cell Anaemia by 2047 with the universal screening of 7 crore people in the age group of 0-40 years in affected tribal areas, and counselling through collaborative efforts of central ministries and state governments is yet another step towards healthier India,” he said.

“The decision to make facilities in select ICMR Labs available for research by public and private medical college faculty and private sector R&D teams will encourage collaborative research and innovation in a big way making us battle ready for future healthcare challenges. Launching dedicated multidisciplinary courses for medical devices will go a long way in ensuring the availability of skilled manpower for futuristic medical technologies, high-end manufacturing and research,” he added.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said that the Budget was presented “keeping in view the upcoming Assembly elections” and that there was “nothing” for the poor people in it.

“Budget was presented by [the] Modi government keeping in view the upcoming Assembly polls in 3-4 States.”

“There’s nothing in the Budget for poor people and to control inflation. No steps for jobs, to fill govt vacancies and MNREGA,” the Congress president added. - ANI

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Wednesday termed the Union Budget “disappointing” and said while it provides additional funds for an irrigation scheme in Karnataka, it has not given national status to the East Rajasthan Canal Project.

He claimed the Budget allotted ₹5,300 crore to the Upper Bhadra Irrigation Project in Karnataka keeping the coming elections in mind and accused the Centre of being “step-motherly” towards his own State.

BJP-run Karnataka is likely to go to the polls in April-May while elections in Rajasthan are expected in December.

“If the Union Budget is talked about in the context of Rajasthan, then it was very disappointing,” Mr. Gehlot said.

“The people of the state are disappointed because the central government did not accept our just demand of giving national status to the Eastern Rajasthan Canal Project, an important project related to the development of Rajasthan,” Mr. Gehlot said.

The veteran Congress leader added that the state would give a befitting reply at the appropriate time.

“The people of Rajasthan will give a befitting reply to this step-motherly treatment when the time comes,” he said.

Expressing displeasure at the Budget, Mr. Gehlot said reducing the provision for schemes such as the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act proves it is anti-poor, landless farmers and common people.

“In the budget, only headline-making ‘jumlas’ have been used in the media but in schemes like Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, which proved to be a lifeline for poor people in the ‘corona’ period, the Budget provision for 2023-24 by the Centre is 33% [approximately ₹30,000 crore].” This, he said, proves the Budget is anti-poor, landless farmers and common people.

Many fake announcements related to agriculture and farmers’ welfare have been made in the Budget but the allocation to the Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare is about 6% (about ₹7,500 crore) lower than last year, Gehlot alleged.

“...there has been a significant reduction of 15% [approximately ₹23,000 crore] in urea subsidy as compared to last year,” he said.

Mr. Gehlot also accused the Centre of neglecting important areas such as education, health, social justice and women and child development.

“The whole country has suffered from inflation for the past years — prices of flour, pulses, oil, soap etc, which are used by the common man on a daily basis, have increased a lot.

“In the absence of any policy statement regarding reducing inflation, the life of the common man will become even more difficult.”

Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel said the Union Budget fulfils the hopes and expectations of the country’s poor, the deprived, and the middle class by giving them innovative opportunities for development.

He said the Budget “embodies” the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi of making India a developed nation in the “Amrit Kaal”, referred to by the government as the 25-year period till India’s independence centenary.

“Prioritising seven aspects — ‘Saptarishi’ — inclusive growth, last-mile delivery, infrastructure and investment, green growth, youth power, financial sector and unleashing the potential of the countrymen, this budget will take India’s development to new heights,” he said in a message in Gujarati on micro-blogging site Twitter.

“Congratulations to Union Finance Minister Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman for presenting a budget embodying the vision of the Prime Minister of making India a “Developed Nation” in Amrit Kaal, fulfilling the hopes and expectations of the country’s poor, the deprived, middle class by giving them many innovative opportunities for development,” Mr. Patel said in another tweet.

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said the Union Budget has taken interests of all sections of society, including farmers, tribals, women, youth and middle class into consideration.

Talking to reporters here, Fadnavis, also the state Finance Minister, termed the budget presented by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman as ‘Sarva Jan Hitai’ (benefiting everyone), adding it caters to all segments and sectors.

“The income tax exemptions up to ₹7 lakh will help lower middle class. At the same time income tax limit of ₹1.5 lakh for income up to ₹15 lakh will provide a huge relief to middle class,” Mr. Fadnavis said.

“The budget will help middle and lower middle class to fulfil their aspirations,” he said.

Terming the allocation of ₹10 lakh crore in infrastructure as unprecedented, he said it will help boost infrastructure growth.

Union Minister Raosaheb Danve said the budgets tabled by the BJP-led Governments have always given priority to agriculture and this budget also does so.

Hitting out at the government, the Congress said the actual expenditure was substantially lower than budgeted last year, and alleged that this was Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s strategy of headline management — “over promise, under deliver”.

Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said last year’s budget drew applause for allocation towards agriculture, health, education, MGNREGA and welfare of SCs, but “today the reality is evident”.

“Actual expenditure is substantially LOWER than budgeted. This is Modi’s OPUD strategy of headline management—Over Promise, Under Deliver,” he said in a tweet.

Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) MP Chirag Paswan welcomed the Budget and said it has taken care of every section of the society.

In an exclusive video interview to PTI, the Lok Sabha MP said the government has ensured that the “economic structure” of the country remains “strong and stable”, while giving relaxation to those who need it.

“I welcome the budget. Given the conditions that not only our country but the world has faced during COVID-19, I really welcome the Budget that the central government has presented,” Mr. Paswan said.

“On one hand the government is making sure that the economic structure of the country remains stable and strong, yet at the same time giving relaxation to the ones who need,” he said.

“The kind of rebates that have been given to taxpayers in personal tax, from ₹5 lakh to ₹7 lakh... and even after that the slabs have been constructed keeping in mind how they can save money. It’s giving a major relaxation to the taxpayers,” he said.

“Also, the kind of expenditure that has been announced in this budget where they have announced a 10 per cent increase in it coming down to 3.3 per cent of the GDP, I think that would definitely invite more investors to the country. The kind of handholding they have extended to the MSME sector, that is one sector that provides the maximum number of employment in our country, so that is also a welcome announcement,” he said.

“Having a female President, a female Finance Minister in our country, we were expecting this. This government is not only talking about women but also delivering it to them,” he said.

Asked if he has any suggestions, the MP from Jamui in Bihar stressed the need for having a commission for youth of the country.

“The Budget could have focused more on the youngsters of our country. There were announcements on startups and skill education. I have been demanding for the longest time for a youth commission in our country. It is very important to take care of all the concerns regarding the youth of the country,” he said.

BSP leader Malook Nagar on Wednesday said the relief granted to the common people in the Union Budget has made it a hit like the Shah Rukh Khan-starrer “Pathaan”.

“The relief given to the common people in the Budget has made it a hit as the movie ‘Pathaan’,” Mr. Nagar, a Lok Sabha member from Bijnor in Uttar Pradesh, told PTI in a video interview.

He said the Income Tax relief granted in the Budget will ensure that more people will file Income Tax returns.

The Aam Aadmi Party questioned Ms. Sitharaman’s claim about doubling of per capita income since 2014, saying it is ‘Amrit Kaal’ for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, not for the common people of the country.

“Neither did the MSP of crops increase nor did the youth get employment. But this is Amrit Kaal for Modi ji. Nirmala ji is saying per capita income has doubled,” AAP’s Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh, who is also the party’s national spokesperson, said in a series of tweets in Hindi, wondering “whose income” doubled.

“No provision for anyone in the budget. Common people are longing for Amrit (nectar) in the Amrit Kaal,” Mr. Singh said.

Latching on to the finance minister’s proposal that 50 additional airports will be revived, the AAP MP took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“Modi ji will build 50 new airports. Who will get them?” Mr. Singh said in a tweet.

Madhya Pradesh Congress president Kamal Nath said the Finance Minister’s budget speech is an attempt to “cover up old promises of the government with ‘jumlas’. We expected the FM will throw light on the announcements that were to be completed in 2022”.

Referring to the “unfulfilled promises” of the BJP-led Central government, Mr. Nath tweeted, “the income of farmers was to be doubled by 2022, housing was to be available to every poor by 2022, the bullet train was to run in the country by 2022. But the Finance Minister neither gave any reason for the non-fulfilment of these announcements nor apologized to the people of the country”.

The former Chief Minister said the Budget shows the government intends to divert “the attention of people from the present complex situation by showing hollow dreams of the future”.

“This trend is not good for the country and the economy,” he added.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan welcomed the income tax relief announced in the Union Budget 2023-24, which he said would ensure more savings for the middle class.

Mr. Chouhan termed “revolutionary” the Budgetary announcement to recruit more than 38,000 teaching and supporting staff for residential Eklavya Model Schools, which he said will improve the talents of the tribal society.

“In #AmritKaalBudget, the finance minister has given a big relief to the middle class by increasing the tax slabs and changing the new tax regime. Now, this will leave more money in the hands of people, increase consumption and accelerate growth. This step honours their selfless contribution to the country’s GDP,” he tweeted.

Mr. Chouhan congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Sitharaman for this “much-awaited” measure and said, “This is a government which takes decisions in the interest of citizens and the nation by respecting public sentiments in the true sense”.

The senior BJP leader also said the proposed recruitment of 38,000 teaching and supporting staff for residential Eklavya Model Schools will bring unprecedented change in the lives of tribal students.

“This will give a new direction to the lives of my tribal sons and daughters of the country as well as of Madhya Pradesh,” he said.

The Union Budget is not people-friendly as it has been prepared keeping in mind the interests of a few businessmen, People’s Democratic Party (PDP) chief Mehbooba Mufti alleged on Wednesday.

Talking to reporters in Srinagar, the former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister said the budget is the same as the ones presented by the BJP-led Government over the last eight-nine years.

“Taxes have increased and money is not being spent on welfare schemes or subsidies. Taxes are being amassed for their crony capitalists. The taxes imposed should have benefitted the people, but they have broken their backs.

“Rather than benefitting people, welfare schemes and subsidies are being done away with. The situation in the country is such that those who had risen above the poverty line have again fallen below it,” Ms. Mufti said.

She alleged that the budget has been prepared for “a few businessmen”. “This is not for the people of India, not for the poor,” the former Union Minister said.

“This is not a people-friendly budget. The taxes have been increased, the GST [Goods and Services Tax] has been increased. Money will be taken out of the pockets of the poor and it will go to big businessmen,” Ms. Mufti said.

Senior BJP leader Jayant Sinha said the Union Budget was “farsighted and balanced” and will ensure that India continues to be a shining star of the world economy.

“It is a farsighted and balanced Budget. India is a shining star in the world economy. This Budget will ensure that we continue to be the shining star,” Mr. Sinha, a former Union Minister of State for Finance told PTI in an exclusive video interview.

He said the Budget laid down concrete policies to address the issues of unemployment, inflation and slowdown in economic growth.

“As far as unemployment is concerned, this Budget will encourage the creation of jobs. We are making huge investments from ₹7.5 lakh crore to ₹10 lakh crore. We are also encouraging the cooperative sector as well as MSMEs,” Mr. Sinha said.

He said the Budget will also ensure that the youth of the country have opportunities for training and skilling so that they can get good jobs.

“This year we are growing at 7%, next year we are projected to grow at 6.5%. This is because of the global slowdown. It is obvious that we too would be affected by that. Our growth rate is projected to slow down by 0.5% but elsewhere it is shrinking by two to three%,” Mr. Sinha said.

The former Union Minister said inflation too was on the decline and was well below the 6% limit prescribed by the RBI.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday said the Union Budget 2023-24 has a vision for ‘New India’. “The budget talks about the vision for New India, the country’s prosperity and aims to serve 130 crore Indians,” he said in a series of tweets in Hindi.

“The budget will fulfil the expectations and aspirations of all sections of society, including the poor, farmers, youth and women. Undoubtedly, this budget will prove to be a milestone in making India an economic superpower,” he added.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said despite paying more than ₹1.75 lakh crore income tax last year, the city was allocated only ₹325 crore in the Union Budget 2023-24.

Accusing the Centre of meting out step-motherly treatment to the national capital, he said the budget has offered no respite from the twin problems of inflation and unemployment. “Step-motherly treatment again with the people of Delhi. The people of Delhi paid more than ₹1.75 lakh crore income tax last year. Out of that only ₹325 crore was given for the development of Delhi. This is a gross injustice to the people of Delhi,” Mr. Kejriwal said in a series of tweets.

“There is no relief from inflation in this budget. On the contrary, this budget will increase inflation. There is no concrete plan to remove unemployment. Unfortunate to reduce education budget from 2.64% to 2.5%. Reducing health budget from 2.2% to 1.98% is harmful,” he said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the first budget of the “amrit kaal” provides foundation to fulfil the resolve for a developed India while giving priority to deprived sections of the society as well.

In his first reaction to the Budget presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Mr. Modi said it will fulfil dreams of the aspirational society, farmers and middle class.

The middle class is a big force to fulfil dreams of a prosperous and developed India and our government has taken many decisions to empower it, the prime minister said.

Touching on various aspects of the budget, he said success of digital payments has to be replicated in the agriculture sector and a scheme has been brought for laying down digital infrastructure for it It will make cooperatives pivot of development of rural economy, he said.

“An unprecedented investment of ₹10 lakh crore in infrastructure will give speed and new energy to development,” he said.

Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati said it would be better if the budget is for the country rather than for the party.

Whenever the Centre talks about the figures of beneficiaries of schemes, Ms. Mayawati said in a tweet, it must remember that India is a vast country of about 130 crore poor, labourers, deprived, farmers who are yearning for their Amrit Kaal.

“For them, there is just talk. It is better if the budget is more for the country than for the party,” she added, indirectly suggesting that the party hoped to gain electoral benefits from the exercise.

“Like earlier in the country, in the last nine years also the budgets of the central government kept on coming in which announcements, promises, claims and hopes were showered. They all became redundant when India’s middle class faced the problems of inflation, poverty and unemployment etc and were reduced to lower middle class,” Ms. Mayawati said in a tweet in Hindi.

“This year’s budget is also not much different. No government points out the shortcomings of last year and makes new promises again, while in reality the lives of more than 100 crore people are at stake as it was before. People live by hope, but why false hope?,” she said in another tweet.

The BSP chief added, “The government’s narrow policies and wrong thinking have the biggest impact on the lives of crores of poor farmers and other hardworking people who are connected to rural India and are called real India. The government should pay attention to their self-respect and self-reliance so that the pockets of the common man are filled and the country develops.”

Terming the Union Budget “anti-people”, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said it will deprive the poor.

Addressing a government function at Bolpur in Birbhum district, she claimed that the changes in the income tax slabs will not help anyone.

“This Union Budget is not futuristic, totally opportunistic, anti-people and anti-poor. It will benefit only one class of people. This Budget will not help address the country’s unemployment issue. It has been prepared with an eye on the 2024 Lok Sabha elections,” she said.

“The changes in the income tax slabs will not help anyone. There is no ray of hope in this Budget — it is a dark dark budget. Give me half an hour and I will show you how to prepare a Budget for the poor,” she added.

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman placed the Budget for 2023-24 in Parliament.

She announced no tax for those with an annual income of up to ₹7 lakh under the new tax regime but made no changes for those who continue in the old regime.

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav said the Union Budget for 2023-24 has given “nirasha” (despair) instead of “asha” (hope) to people of the country.

He also claimed that the budget further increases inflation and unemployment. “The BJP is completing a decade of its budgets, but when it did not give anything to the public earlier, what will it give now?” Mr. Yadav tweeted in Hindi.

“The BJP’s budget further increases inflation and unemployment. It does not give ‘asha’ but ‘nirasha’ to farmers, labourers, youth, women, professionals and the business class. This budget is for the benefit of a few rich people,” he added.

The Union Budget for 2023-24 is focused on growth and welfare with a priority to provide support to farmers, women, marginalised sections and the middle class, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said.

“The Union Budget for 2023-24 presented by FM Smt. @nsitharaman under the guidance of PM Shri @narendramodi is focused on growth and welfare, with a priority to provide support to farmers, women, marginalised sections and the middle class,” Mr. Singh tweeted.

“By creating jobs through investments in infrastructure projects paired with increased spending on agriculture, housing, healthcare and manufacturing sectors will help create more opportunities for everyone and help in driving economic growth further ahead!,” he said.

“The increase in Income Tax exemption limit to ₹7 lakhs and several other tax related reforms will provide a huge relief to middle class including salaried individuals and retired people. I congratulate the FM and thank Pradhanmantri ji for taking this people friendly decision.

“The Union Budget 2023-24 is expected to bring about positive changes in the country that will lead us towards achieving our goal of becoming a $5 trillion economy and ‘Top Three’ economies within few years,” Mr. Singh said in another tweet.

Giving boost to education, skill development and job creation, the Union Budget lays a solid foundation for transforming India into a technology-driven, knowledge-based economy, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said on Wednesday.

“Giving a boost to education, skill dev, entrepreneurship, R&D, digital infrastructure, green growth & job creation, #AmritKaalBudget draws a meticulous blueprint for India@100 and lays a solid foundation for transforming India into a technology-driven knowledge-based economy,” Mr. Pradhan tweeted.

“...a brilliant, people-centric and growth-stimulating #AmritKaalBudget that includes everyone, empowers poor & middle class, that reaches the last mile and that brings cheer to all,” Mr. Pradhan said.