Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi, after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's reply to the discussion on General Budget 2025-26, said it was a masterclass on shifting blame and deflecting from the reality.
"I don't know which planet she is living on. She is saying there is no inflation, there is no rise in unemployment, there is no rise in prices,” lashed out the MP at the finance minister who said that the inflation trend, particularly food appears to be moderating.
Congress general secretary in-charge organisations KC Venugopal said that her “arrogant” dismissal of pressing issues was an attempt to score political points. "In her reply, she found it more suitable to cherry-pick UPA-era statistics instead of explaining why key economic indices - be it the GDP growth rate or the rupee value against the dollar - are in terminal decline. On key social welfare schemes, instead of explaining the stagnation or reduction in budget allocations, she shifted the blame to state governments," Venugopal said.
Venugopal said that they hoped the “collective wisdom of the house” would guide the government to course correct but it instead led to a political slugfest.
FM’s REPLY
FM Sitharaman, on Tuesday, stated that the Indian economy is experiencing a "speedy rebound" from a 5.4 per cent growth recorded in the second quarter of the current fiscal year, assuring that the government would implement measures to ensure India remains the world's fastest-growing economy.
In her response during the Lok Sabha discussions on the Union Budget for 2025-26, Sitharaman emphasised that inflation management is a top priority for the government, with retail inflation remaining within the tolerance band of 2-6 per cent. She observed that the inflation trend, particularly in food, appears to be moderating.
Regarding GDP growth, Sitharaman mentioned that in the three years prior to 2024-25, India's GDP growth rate averaged around 8 per cent. For the current fiscal year, the Indian economy is projected to grow at 6.4 per cent, marking the lowest pace in four years. The Economic Survey by the Finance Ministry projects growth for the next fiscal year, FY'26, to be between 6.3-6.8 per cent.
She highlighted that only in two out of 12 quarters did India's growth rate dip to 5.4 per cent or below. The GDP growth in the second quarter (July-September) slowed to a 7-quarter low of 5.4 per cent.
On the rupee's weakening against the US dollar, Sitharaman said various global and domestic factors are influencing its value. The Indian rupee depreciated by 3.3 per cent against the US dollar between October 2024 and January 2025, a decline less severe than some Asian currencies like the South Korean Won and Indonesian Rupiah, which depreciated by 8.1 per cent and 6.9 per cent, respectively.