Congress leader Rahul Gandhi criticised Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's budget speech
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi lashed out at Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's budget speech today, calling it "without any central idea" to address unemployment, "the main issue facing the country".
Presenting her second Union Budget, which she said was based on three themes - "aspirational India", "a caring society" and "economic development for all", Ms Sitharaman unveiled a number of measures to fight the economic slowdown, including cuts to income tax rates for and changed slabs for those earning up to Rs 15 lakh per year.
"Maybe this was the longest budget speech in history, but it had nothing. It was hollow. PM Modi and Nirmala Sitharaman looked like they have absolutely no clue what to do next," Rahul Gandhi said while leaving parliament after attending the budget session.
"The main issue facing the country is unemployment. I didn't see any strategic idea that will help our youth get jobs. I saw tactical stuff but no central idea," Mr Gandhi said, adding, "It describes this government well - a lot of repetitions... all talk but nothing happening".
Other Congress leaders were equally critical of the budget on this issue, with senior member Kapil Sibal targeting the Finance Minister over her "aspirational India" theme.
"Graduates aged between 22 and 25 have an unemployment rate of 63 percent. The budget does not discuss what needs to be done for levels that have not been seen in the last 45 years," he said.
Mr Gandhi and Mr Sibal were not the only opposition leaders to criticise the budget over unemployment. NCP chief Sharad Pawar tweeted that the issue had "not been addressed fairly". The Congress and the NCP are in power in Maharashtra in an alliance that is headed by the Shiv Sena.
In her speech, which - at two hours, 41 minutes - was the longest ever, the Finance Minister, announced a budget of Rs 99,300 crore for education, with Rs 3,000 crore more for skill development.
"The third point under Aspirational India is 'education and skills'. Education needs greater inflow of finance," she told parliament today.
Ms Sitharaman also praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi's flagship "beti bachao, beti padhao" programme, which she said had seen record enrollment levels for girls.
According to the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE), the unemployment rate stands at 7.5 per cent for the September-December 2019; the rate for graduates is much higher - 18 per cent.
In 2017/18 the rate was 6.1 per cent, the statistics ministry said in May, confirming the figure leaked to Business Standard newspaper in January, which said it was the highest since 1972-73.
The Congress has targeted the ruling BJP repeatedly on unemployment and the slowdown in the economy, with former Finance Minister P Chidambaram taking the lead.
Ms Sitharaman was expected to provide answers to several problems in her speech, including a downward-spiralling GDP growth rate that has slowed to 4.5 per cent in the July-September quarter - the weakest pace since 2013.
With input from ANI