Opposition Not Impressed By The Budget 2026 And Nirmala Sitharaman's Speech

New Delhi: Opposition parties on Sunday criticised the Union Budget presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman for lacking clarity and called it a "woefully short of the hype" and "completely insipid."

What did the Congress say?

Calling it a “totally lacklustre”, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh on Sunday said that “Budget 2026/27 falls woefully short of the hype that was generated about it.”

Taking to X, the congress leader shared two tweets in English and Hindi which stated that the Nirmala Sitharaman “speech was non-transparent since it gave no idea.”

“While the documents need to be studied in detail, it is clear after 90 mins that Budget 2026/27 falls woefully short of the hype that was generated about it. It was totally lacklustre. The speech was also non-transparent since it gave no idea whatsoever of budgetary allocations for key programmes and schemes,” he wrote.

हालाँकि दस्तावेज़ों का विस्तार से अध्ययन किया जाना अभी बाकी है, लेकिन 90 मिनट बाद ही यह स्पष्ट हो गया है कि बजट 2026/27 के बारे में जो भारी माहौल बनाया गया था, उसके मुकाबले यह कहीं कमतर रहा है। यह पूरी तरह फीका साबित हुआ।

भाषण भी पारदर्शी नहीं था, क्योंकि इसमें प्रमुख…

— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) February 1, 2026

Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge also called the Budget 2026 as “NO policy vision, NO political will.”

Taking to X, Kharge highlighted seven points that according to him were missing in the budget.

“Modi Govt has run out of ideas. Budget 026 does not provide a single solution to India’s many economic, social, and political challenges,” he wrote.

Modi Govt has run out of ideas. #Budget2026 does not provide a single solution to India’s many economic, social, and political challenges.

“Mission Mode” is now “Challenge Route.”

“Reform Express” rarely stops at any "Reform" Junction.

Net result: NO policy vision, NO…

— Mallikarjun Kharge (@kharge) February 1, 2026

Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi, who attended the Budget session said that she has “not much expectations” from the Union Budget.

While talking to ANI, Priyanka said that “I don’t have much expectations, but let’s see.”

While expressing his thoughts about the Budget, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said that there is “nothing to be happy about.”

He also said that in the Nirmala Sitharaman’s speech, his state, Kerala, was not mentioned enough.

"Even though there were subheadings about fisheries, about cashew and coconut which may benefit us. We assume it should benefit us, but we have not yet seen and certainly Kerala wasn't named. I don't want to say right now I'm disappointed until I see the full details. As a Kerala MP, I must say I have nothing to be happy about in this budget," Tharoor said.

What did Samajwadi Party say?

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav also opposed the Budget saying, “What can one expect from a government from which there is no hope?”

While talking to the reporters, Akhilesh Yadav  said that "What can one expect from a government from which there is no hope? This budget is made for five per cent of the people. Did the government live up to the promises it made in its manifesto?"

Lok Sabha MP Dimple Yadav also expressed same views as her husband, Akhilesh Yadav.

"There is nothing in the Budget. The type of technical terms used in Nirmala Sitharaman's speech a common man would never understand. There is nothing in this Budget for farmers and women's safety," Dimple Yadav said.