Ahead of the Union Budget, the Congress claimed on Friday that the BJP-led Central government has completely “ruined” the economic landscape of the country and added that people are bearing the double whammy of “high unemployment and back-breaking inflation”.

Addressing a press conference at the party headquarters, Congress’ Chairperson of Social Media and Digital Platforms Supriya Shrinate said, “Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will soon present her seventh Budget. It is important to discuss the economic landscape which has been completely ruined by the government.”
Highlighting controversial moves of the government, including demonetisation, and GST, she said, “This government’s economic mismanagement and knee-jerk policies like note ban (demonetisation), half-baked the Goods and Services Tax (GST), and inefficient Covid management cost the economy Rs 11.3 lakh crore and resulted in the loss of 1.6 crore informal sector jobs.”

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Shrinate further said, “India is seeing rising levels of inequality. Our economic inequality today is at the worst with 1 per cent of India’s population controlling 40 per cent of this country’s wealth.”

Pointing out that common people are reeling under high prices, she said, “Retail inflation has surged, food inflation has been persistently close to the nine per cent mark for month after month. Food inflation for the month of June is at 9.55 per cent.”

“How are the poor and the middle class coping with the situation? High prices and high inflation have broken the back of India’s middle class and poor. We are forced to draw into the savings of our future because of unemployment, low wages, and high prices. Our incomes have not kept up, but our expenses have gone up. So, India, which is traditionally a savings country, has seen savings plummet to a 50-year low,” she said.

Talking about the agriculture sector, the Congress spokesperson said, “The Modi Government has consistently reduced expenditure on agriculture as a proportion of the total Budget. The agricultural sector allocation decreased drastically from Rs 1.33 lakh crore in FY23 to Rs 1.25 lakh crore in FY24.”

Taking a jibe at Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Shrinate said, “She has met industrialists, bankers, economists, associations of farmers, and multiple other people (prior to the presentation of the Budget). But has she met the common people of this country.”

“Has she met real farmers struggling to get the right price for their produce? Has she met India’s middle class and the poor, half of who cannot afford three meals a day? Has she met women bearing the brunt of high prices the most? Has she met our youth who are jobless and facing the onslaught of paper leaks? And because she hasn’t met real India – it is clear that her Budget will once again focus on the Richie-rich and help them build more monopolies,” she said.

Referring to the Railways, the Congress spokesperson said, “Given the fact that there is no longer a separate Budget for Indian Railways anymore, one will keenly watch what the Finance Minister says for India’s lifeline. What will be the plan and the outlay to make Railways more secure?”