"Government Presenting Dubious Numbers": Shashi Tharoor Slams Budget

Congress's Shashi Tharoor criticised the Union budget today, saying it failed to address the current "high debt, low employment, high food inflation" and accused the government of presenting dubious figures to back their claims on poverty.

In an interview to NDTV, Mr Tharoor said over the last decade, people have had "no real growth in their income". In fact, "income levels have shrunk over 50 per cent since 2015, and the people "are suffering," he said.

Mr Tharoor had earlier slammed the budget as being "high on rhetoric" and "low on substance".

Asked about the comment, he underscored it, saying the budget has completely overlooked the massive problems facing the country, including unemployment, "which is at a 45-year high" and a percentage of prevalence -- 44 -- that's "probably a world record".

Mr Tharoor's face off was with the BJP's Jay Panda, who said the former Union Minister will have a "difficult  job to rain on a parade which is celebrated not only by Indians but all the world".

Contradicting the data presented by Mr Tharoor, he said the Indian economy has been "growing" for several years. "The average incomes have increased by 50 per cent," he said.

"Rural consumption puts a lie to the Opposition's claims.. 10 million people have become lakhpatis due to Prime Minister Narendra Modi... 500 million youth have become upskilled," he added.

Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, while presenting the interim budget in parliament today, said PM Modi's government is working to make India a 'Viksit (Developed) Bharat' by 2047, and that this development would be "all round, all inclusive, and all pervasive"

Prime Minister Narendra Modi called the Interim Budget "inclusive and innovative".

"This interim budget is inclusive and innovative. It has confidence in continuity. It will empower all four pillars of Viksit Bharat: Yuva, Garib, Mahila and Kisan. This Budget gives the guarantee of making India a developed nation by 2047," PM Modi said.