Budget 2026 is like rearranging airbags in a crashing car: Shashi Tharoor

Signalling the end of the gridlock between the Treasury and Opposition benches, the Lok Sabha on Tuesday (February 10) afternoon took up a discussion on the Union Budget. The debate had been held up for days over the Opposition's demand that LoP Rahul Gandhi be allowed to speak on a variety of issues.

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Kicking off the debate, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor called the Budget a "squandered opportunity like rearranging the airbags in a crashing car while assuring passengers that the chassis is intact.” He criticised the government for reducing spending and shifting the tax burden onto individuals from corporations.

He was quoted as saying that revenue estimates are projected at 3.1% from corporates while individuals will pay 3.7%.

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Samajwadi Party chief and Kannauj MP Akhilesh Yadav criticised the Centre stating “No big project has been launched by this government. They are mainly only completing projects launched by previous governments. Upcoming projects do not reflect Viksit Bharat.” He added that the Budget doesn’t provide justice for any social or economic inequality. He also highlighted the deteriorating conditions of India’s rivers and poor air quality in major cities.

On the US-India trade deal, he said: “We are all worried about this deal. If all crops are going to come from US, what will our farmers grow?”

TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee, adding to the list of criticisms, said that “India lives with three certainties - pressure that mounts, taxes that multiply and trust that is betrayed.” He added that slogans like 'Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas' ring hollow when Bengal’s dues of Rs 1.9 lakh crore remain unpaid.

BJP highlights tax breaks

BJP MP Aparajita Sarangi, meanwhile, praised the Centre, saying, “India has shown the ability to cleverly navigate in a different changing world order.” She highlighted tax breaks for MSMEs, ease of customs duties for marine exporters and a 194% increase in allocation for Health, since 2014.

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The Rajya Sabha also carried forward its ongoing debate on the Union Budget 2026–27.

DMK MP Kanimozhi called it “Yet another failed budget,” alleging that the budget was detached from the country’s economic realities. She also termed the budget as ‘anti poor’, ‘faceless’ and ‘baseless', stating “It offers no relief to workers, farmers, salaried middle class people or the unemployed while continuing to prioritise the big corporates.” She added that the budget undermined fiscal federalism by cutting transfers to states by lakhs of crores.

BJP MP Surendra Singh Nagar defended the budget stating that it prioritised competition, economic growth, skill development and ensuring that all social sector schemes reach the people. He criticised P Chidambaram’s speech as ‘a way to learn how to twist numbers’, highlighting that the economy has progressed far from its state in 2014.

Opposition flags high debt

TMC MP Sukhendu Sekhar Ray compared the government’s approach to ancient philosopher Charvaka’s call for debt-fuelled consumption, pointing to India’s total government debt of about ₹200.53 lakh crore. He also criticised the Budget for leaving income tax slabs unchanged and warned that allowing 100% FDI in insurance could hurt nationalised insurance companies, reported by The Hindu.

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RJD MP Manoj Kumar Jha said that while the country is becoming a Center for global investment youth still remained unemployed. He said MSMEs meant to act as shock absorbers, are being hit by too many shocks to recover. He claimed that wealth was growing at the top and eroded at the base.