New Delhi: The Union Budget 2026-27 drew sharp political reactions on Sunday, with Congress MP Shashi Tharoor slamming it as having “missed the ball” using a cricketing analogy, while West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee and others voiced strong dissent. Presented by finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman amid expectations of bold reforms for Viksit Bharat, the Budget faced flak for inadequate rural relief, job creation, and consumption boosts despite a hefty ₹12.2 lakh crore capex push.
Tharoor, while speaking to PTI, said: “I think, by recent years’ standards, it was a fairly short speech and seemed to have lots of subheadings but very few specifics. So it’s very difficult to know what to think. On the big-picture issues, there was nothing there for the middle class and the lower middle class. There was nothing there for the states. In fact, fiscal devolution remains unchanged at 41 per cent, and many states do not have enough money to fulfil their own obligations to their citizens and voters. That has become a genuine concern.”
“There were very, very few details on things like what is going to be where. We in Kerala, for example, have been waiting almost 15 years for an All India Institute of Medical Sciences. No announcement came. There was a reference to All India Institutes of Ayurveda being established, but no indication as to where. Kerala would imagine that, as a major centre of Ayurveda, it should be a logical place, but they haven’t promised us that. In fact, Kerala was only mentioned in the context of rare earths and the turtle trail. Even when coconuts and cashews were talked about, the state wasn’t mentioned. So I’m assuming that some of these subheadings she spoke about will translate into concrete projects and programmes for us. Cashews are important, fisheries are important, but where details came, we had reason for disappointment..,” he added.
When asked whether the finance minister has “hit it out of the park” or “missed the ball completely and been stumped,” the Congress leader said: “I don’t know if she’s been stumped yet, but she certainly seems to have missed the ball. In one or two places, she may have got edges, but I’m not quite sure that we’ve got anything off the meat of the bat so far.”
Mamata Banerjee labeled it a “betrayal of federalism,” accusing the Centre of slashing states’ shares while prioritizing “glitzy projects” like high-speed rails over flood-hit Bengal’s needs. “This is anti-poor, anti-farmer—where’s the MNREGA hike or real farm loan waivers?” she demanded at a Kolkata rally, vowing TMC protests. Trinamool leaders echoed her, slamming underutilized schemes like PMAY and Jal Jeevan as evidence of hollow promises.
Other opposition heavyweights also criticised the Budget. Rahul Gandhi called it “a rich man’s Budget,” ignoring youth skilling and MSME credit amid slowing exports. CPI(M)’s Brinda Karat critiqued stagnant social spending—Jal Jeevan at ₹17,000 crore versus ₹67,000 budgeted—flagging inequality gaps. “Viksit Bharat for whom? The top 1%?” she quipped.
On the NDA side, BJP hailed PM Modi’s vision, with Amit Shah terming it “historic” for semiconductors, nuclear tech, and Purvodaya corridors boosting Bihar-Odisha growth. Industry welcomed tax tweaks like TCS cuts and EV duty exemptions, with CII’s Chandrajit Banerjee noting MSME credit guarantees up to ₹10 crore as “timely relief.” Markets reacted positively, Sensex up 450 points.
