Former Union Finance Minister and senior Congress leader P. Chidambaram on Saturday slammed the BJP over the Union Budget presented by Nirmala Sitharaman, alleging that most of the new initiatives are “beyond the capacity” of the government.
“The budget is full of new schemes and programs, and many of these are beyond the capacity of this government, Chidambaram said. He said, “The takeaway from Budget 2025-26 is that the BJP is appeasing the tax-paying middle-class Bihar electorate. Bureaucracy will be happy with this budget. The government’s stranglehold on people’s activities is getting tighter.”
Chidambaram, who served as finance minister in the Prime Ministerial era of Dr. Manmohan Singh, Inder Kumar Gujral, and HD Deve Gowda, said, The economy will trudge along on the old path, delivering no more than the usual 6% or 6.5% growth in 2025-26.”
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented her eighth consecutive budget speech, in which among the major announcements included the rewards for the middle class and the restructuring of the tax slabs. The salaried individuals with an annual income up to Rs 12 lakh will not have to pay any tax.
The modified taxable brackets started at Rs 4 lakh to Rs 8 lakh with a rate of 5%, going up to 30% for incomes above Rs 24 lakh. The annual limit for tax-deductible at source (TDS) on rent has been increased from Rs 2.4 lakh to Rs 6 lakh, benefiting small taxpayers receiving smaller payments.
