BJP wooing middle class, slashing welfare spending: Chidambaram on Budget 2025

Former Union finance minister P. Chidambaram has sharply criticised the Union Budget presented by finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday, condemning it as a politically motivated attempt to appease the tax-paying middle class while disregarding broader economic and social welfare concerns.

"This budget lacks new ideas. It is an attempt to woo the 3.2 crore tax-paying middle class by increasing the income tax slab to Rs 12 lakh, but for the rest of India, the Finance Minister had nothing more than soothing words," said Chidambaram.

"This budget lacks new ideas. It is an attempt to woo the 3.2 crore tax-paying middle class by increasing the income tax slab to Rs 12 lakh, but for the rest of India, the Finance Minister had nothing more than soothing words," said Chidambaram, addressing media in Delhi.

Chidambaram highlighted that despite the government’s rhetoric, the budget significantly slashes overall expenditure by Rs 1,04,025 crore, with capital expenditure facing a cut of Rs 92,682 crore. The hardest-hit sectors include:

• Health: Rs 1,255 crore cut

• Education: Rs 11,584 crore cut

• Social Welfare: Rs 10,019 crore cut

• Agriculture: Rs 10,992 crore cut

• Rural Development: Rs 75,133 crore cut

• Urban Development: Rs 18,907 crore cut

• Development of Northeast: Rs 1,894 crore cut

"The cruelest cuts," he noted, "are in allocations meant for Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs), Other Backward Classes (OBCs), and minorities."

For instance, the PM Anysuchit Jaati Abhyuday Yojana, meant for SCs, saw its allocation slashed from Rs 2,140 crore to just Rs 800 crore. The Post Matric Scholarship for SCs was reduced from Rs 6,360 crore to Rs 5,500 crore, while the Programme for Development of STs dropped from Rs 4,300 crore to Rs 3,630 crore. Similar cuts were made to scholarships for OBCs, Economically Backward Classes (EBCs), and Denotified Tribes (DNTs).

The former finance minister also accused the government of failing to provide adequate funding for essential social programs such as POSHAN, Jal Jeevan Mission, National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP), Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY), Crop Insurance Scheme, Urea Subsidy, and PM Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana.

Chidambaram also pointed out that the allocation for the Railways barely keeps pace with inflation, despite the sector catering to a vast majority of Indians.

• BE 2024-25: Rs 2,06,961 crore

• RE 2024-25: Rs 2,12,786 crore

• BE 2025-26: Rs 2,13,552 crore

"An increase of a mere Rs 766 crore in 2025-26 will not even cover inflation. The actual allocation will be lower than last year’s," he remarked.

Chidambaram dismissed the government’s economic optimism, stating that the economy will continue on its current trajectory, delivering "no more than 6 or 6.5 percent growth in 2025-26," far below the 8 percent growth that the CEA estimated is necessary for India to achieve developed nation status.

"This is a government with no new ideas and no will to reach beyond its grasp," he concluded.

With the Lok Sabha elections on the horizon, the budget appears to be a calculated political move rather than a visionary economic blueprint. Whether the middle class tax relief will be enough to counterbalance the widespread cuts remains to be seen.