Akhilesh slams Budget, flags US trade deal ‘concessions’

The Opposition on Monday criticised the Union Budget in Parliament, with Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee describing it as a “directionless” document that, they alleged, compromised the principles of self-reliance and swadeshi.

Speaking during the discussion on the Union Budget in the Lok Sabha — which proceeded smoothly after the Congress and its allies (minus the TMC) submitted a motion seeking the Speaker’s removal to the Parliament Secretariat and refrained from protests when the House reconvened at 2 pm following morning adjournments — Yadav launched a sharp attack on the Union government and the Uttar Pradesh administration.

The Kannauj MP alleged that the Budget was “directionless” and offered nothing to the poor, farmers and workers. Speaking amid repeated interventions from Treasury bench members, he said the government had replaced the language of self-reliance and swadeshi with what he termed unilateral trade concessions, particularly in relation to the United States.

Yadav questioned claims that a trade “deal” had been finalised with the US, arguing that India had opened its markets without reciprocal benefits. “It is not a deal with America, it is a compromise (dheel),” he said, asking why, if such an agreement was imminent, it had taken 11 months to materialise. Referring to tariff figures, he remarked, “The country wants to know whether zero is bigger or 18.”

He alleged that inflation had risen while ordinary citizens received no tax relief and that social security measures remained “only on paper”. He said that farmers and labourers were “searching the Budget with binoculars” to find any benefit meant for them.

Criticising the government’s economic record, Yadav said per capita income had not increased despite 11 Budgets and that promises such as doubling farmers’ income and generating employment remained unfulfilled. He warned that indiscriminate imports could leave farmers without viable crops to grow.

He also cautioned against China’s growing economic influence and urged the government to act with vigilance, while asking the Finance Minister to clarify the government’s position on MGNREGA in the House.

Speaking after Yadav, TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee criticised the Budget, alleging that West Bengal had been neglected and accusing the Central government of practising “subscription-based federalism”.

Banerjee said the government showed favouritism and failed to uphold the constitutional promise of equality among states, noting that the Finance Minister’s 85-minute speech did not mention West Bengal even once.

Referring to the mention of a freight corridor from Dankuni in the Budget, Banerjee said the project had originally been announced when Mamata Banerjee served as Railway Minister during the UPA-II government.

“The Constitution promises equality among states. But this Government practises preference; allies are funded while opponents are starved. This is not a model of cooperative federalism; this is a model of subscription-based federalism,” he said.

On February 1, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced plans for seven high-speed rail corridors, new dedicated freight corridors, and the operationalisation of 20 national waterways over the next five years as part of the Budget. Among these was a new dedicated freight corridor connecting Dankuni in West Bengal to Surat in Gujarat, ahead of the state’s Assembly elections later this year.