Budget Session Live Updates | Why Give Tax Breaks To Corporates, Reduce Spending In Key Sectors, Asks Cong MP Shashi Tharoor

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor from Thiruvananthapuram picked on the government's tax relief to corporates and capitalists while reducing the spending for key sectors including health. In his speech, took potshots on the Budget 2024, calling it an underwhelming budget, which had not addressed any of the key issues. He gave different names, with his colleagues jeering against the ruling BJP. He reminded the Saffron party of their loss in Ayodhya without referring to it, saying that the 'mandir' politics have been rejected by the people. It is a "name changing Government not a game changing Government," Tharoor said, adding that "rebranding" is what this government has done in the past 10 years. He also wanted to know why the government was keen on giving tax cuts to Corporates and forgoing its "astronomical share" in corporate taxes in the past five years.

AITC MP Sagarika Ghosh speaking in Rajya Sabha on Budget 2024: I rise to speak on behalf of my party on the Union Budget...Inequality, inequality, inequality, this is the fundamental crisis facing our country today. This inequality has not been addressed by this budget nor has it been addressed in the previous 10 budgets of this government. The government keeps on telling us that it is pushing us into more and more growth but it is pushing us into more and more inequality, this government is pushing us into the inequality trap.

The Paris-based World Inequality Lab has said in its 2024 report that India's billionaire Raj has replaced the British Raj. India in 2024 is more unequal now than it was in the 1920s in the colonial period (repeats that). That is the catastrophe of inequality facing us. That is why budgets need to be about real people, real India, real issues not about fantasy land, not about Disney land...The top 1% of India controls 40% of the country's wealth, real earnings of regular salaried and self-employed have declined or remained stagnant.

The honourable finance minister claimed that GST has benefitted the common man but the truth is 67% of GST is paid by the poorest 50% of India. India is a country where 800 million people still depend on free food. The Budget needed to address this inequality trap but it has failed to do so.

Ghosh also demands a time-bound and transparent audit of all centrally sponsored schemes.

Sribharat Mathukumili, TDP Lok Sabha MP from Vishakhapatnam thanked the central government for announcing Rs 15,000 crore allocation for the Amaravati project in Andhra Pradesh.

"We thank PM Narendra Modi and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman for allocating Rs 15,000 crore to Amaravati in the current financial year and the commitment to allocate more in the coming years. Amaravati is a historic and unique project. We have received about 33,000 acres from over 30,000 farmers without taking a single rupee upfront with the trust that we will develop and give back a world-class capital. But due to the damage of the last five years in the previous government, we lost the ability to do it. We need the support of the centre, and we appreciate the centre's response to that," the TDP MP said in Lok Sabha.

In the discussion on the 2024 Union Budget, Dayanidhi Maran of the DMK, launched a scathing attack on the Narendra Modi-led government. “Lakhs of crores of public money were spent to promote Modi ka guarantee before Lok Sabha polls. After the election, Modi ka guarantee is replaced with Modi ka insurance. Premium is being paid by the people to ensure he continues as PM,” the DMK MP said.

TMC's Abhishek Banerjee slammed the Modi-led government in Lok Sabha as he discussed Budget 2024 calling it a "budget without any vision, made to bribe two people and buy time before the government implodes". This coalition, he said, meant appeasement and compensation, asserting that budget has "more fiction than finance".

Here are some of the digs he took at the central government during his speech:

Prime Minister is on borrowed time.

No mention of burning Manipur in the Budget.

When a bridge collapsed in Bengal, PM said it was not an act of God, but an act of fraud. Every incident that has occurred under his rule, was it an act of God or act of fraud?

Abhishek Banerjee's acronym for BUDGET: B for Betrayal, U for Unemployment, D for Deprived, G for Guarantee with zero warranty, E for Eccentric, T for Tragedy.

They are saying that I'm reading from a paper, but the PM himself reads from a teleprompter.

BJP's guarantees come with zero warranty.

Too many rail accidents nowadays, but no mention of railway safety measures in the budget.

The Railway Minister has blood on his hands.

99 per cent of black money is back in circulation.

BJP should have had 80 women MPs under the 1/3rd reservation scheme, but they have just 31.

I challenge the FM to release the white paper that shows how much money has been given to Bengal after BJP's humiliating defeat in the state.

Modiji ki teesri baar, geerbo ke upar lagatar atyachar.

BJP doesn't have a single Muslim MP/MLA in Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha or any state assembly.

Sab ka saath, sab ka vikas becomes jo hamare saath, hum unke saath.

Farmer leaders after meeting Rahul Gandhi: "We were here to meet Rahul Gandhi. He listened to our demands. We had a long discussion on MSP with a legal guarantee. We were assured that the issues farmers and farm labourers faced will be raised in Parliament," one of the farmers part of the delegation said while speaking to media outside the parliament. Rahul Gandhi was present with the farmers when they spoke to the media.

Another farm leader said: "We also spoke with him about seeking an independent inquiry into the injustice meted out to farmers in Haryana. Haryana government fired bullets at farmers, and killed them, how can the same government conduct an impartial inquiry? So he had promised us that he would raise the demand for an independent inquiry."

Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi met a delegation of farmer leaders in the Parliament House complex. After the meeting, Gandhi said that the INDIA bloc will pressure the government and ensure that the farmers get a legal guarantee for MSP. The delegation comprised farm leaders from Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, and apprised Rahul of the issues being faced by the tillers.

Congress Rajya Sabha MP and former Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram targeted the central government and specifically FM Nirmala Sitharaman over an 'attack' on federalism.

"Why does the UPSC have to play a role in the appointment of the DGP of a state? Why should a state government not have the right to choose Vice Chancellors of the state universities? Why did this government treat Andhra Pradesh differently in the past? I don't grudge at all that you are giving relief to Andhra Pradesh and Bihar. What about the other states? We are a federal country. But this is a death knell to federalism...you cannot pick and choose, pick one state and deny relief to another state," Chidambaram said.

He also questioned Sitharaman why she ignored mentioning Tamil Nadu or even the word Tamil in her entire Budget speech. He also listed out five demands and sought reply from the FM.

"I have 5 demands which I would urge the finance minister to copy from our manifesto. My demands are:

1. Minimum wage of Rs 400 per day for every kind of employment.
2. A legally guaranteed MSP.
3. A write-off of the unpaid balance of interest for the instalment of education loans given up to March 2024.
4. Abolition of Agnipath/Agniveer scheme
5. NEET be scrapped, some states want it, let them have it, and exempt other states."

Discussion on Union Budget 2024-25 and J&K budget 2024-25 taken up in the Rajya Sabha: Congress MP and former Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram says FM Nirmala Sitharaman dismissed the serious issue of inflation in just 10 words in her Budget speech.

"I warn this government. You are taking inflation not so seriously. The last set of byelections punished you. You won't agree. Out of 13 seats 10 were won by the INDIA bloc. This is a punishment, if you don't take inflation seriously, you will be punished more. If you want to suffer the punishment, you are welcome," Chidambaram said.

K Suresh, Congress MP from Kerala's Kodikunnil constituency, raises concern over Nipah virus outbreak in the state and seeks a regular supply of monoclonal antibiotics. "It is deeply concerning that of the total of 99 Nipah cases reported in more than 2 decades between 2001 and 2023 in India, Kerala has accounted for 28 percent of the total confirmed cases in the country including the latest cases in Kozhikode. This along with the case fatality in the first outbreak, picking at 89.4 percent with 17 deaths out of 19 lab-confirmed cases in Kozhikode and Mallapuram, is a major cause for concern as the second wave is rising and the state government is not serious. A central government team should be sent, and the government should provide all required assistance to Kerala and ensure immediate help in the same. I demand the government should provide compensation to the families of the victims who lost their lives in Nipah outbreak. The Union Government should ensure supply of monoclonal antibiotics for the state and further take steps to provide urgent results of the samples sent to Pune virology lab."

June Maliah, TMC MP from Medinipur (West Bengal), in her maiden speech in Lok Sabha, highlights the poor infrastructure facilities provided by the Railways in the quarters allotted to the low-income groups in Kharagpur. She says, “The Railways don’t provide these colonies with basic infrastructure which is, water supply, electricity supply, and also sometimes toilets.” Municipality and the councillors face no cooperation from the Railways, she said. "I would on behalf of my people like to ask the Honourable railway minister, he has been to Khargapur and is aware of the situation, what steps have been taken to provide ownership rights to them, if not then why isn't the railways taking enough initiatives to develop this area. The people continue to live in such despair."

Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said in Lok Sabha on Wednesday that work on the Wadsa-Gadchiroli Railway line, which passes through Left Wing Extremism affected areas, has picked up speed after getting land and forest clearances.

Replying to a supplementary, he said the project is important as it passes through Left Wing Extremism-affected areas. Wadsa-Gadchiroli is an important project. It also provides a mitigation to left-wing extremism-affected areas. It is an important project for the poor people of the area, the minister said. However, the then Uddhav Thackeray government in Maharashtra had not provided the necessary clearances to it. Unfortunately, land acquisition support was not provided under the Uddhav Thackeray government, but when the Devendra Fadnavis and Eknath Shinde government came to power, it did good work on land acquisition, he said. All the land that was required -- around 220 hectares -- has been acquired. Work is progressing, he said.

Rajya Sabha has been adjourned till 2 PM. Earlier today MoS for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai spoke on J&K in the house. NCP MP Praful Patel among other MPs asked questions on the Union Territory. Similarly, Fisheries Minister Lalan Singh also responded to several questions posed by MPs on issues faced by fishermen, including hundreds of them being arrested by Sri Lanka.

Farmer leaders invited by Congress MP and LoP Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi to meet him in Parliament are now allowed inside, to meet him in the LoP office on the Parliament premises. Earlier in the day, Rahul Gandhi said, "We had invited them (farmer leaders) here to meet us. But they are not allowing them here (in Parliament). Because they are farmers, maybe this is the reason they are not allowing them in."

On opposition’s protest against ‘discriminatory’ Budget, FM Nirmala Sitharaman in Rajya Sabha says, "In every Budget, you don’t get an opportunity to name every state of this country...The Cabinet had decided to set up a port on Vadavan. But Maharashtra’s name was not taken in the Budget yesterday. Does this mean that Maharashtra feels ignored? If a particular state is named in the speech, does it mean that programs of GOI don't go to these states? This is a deliberate attempt of the Opposition led by Congress to give the impression to people that nothing has been given to our states. This is an outrageous allegation...”

Before the Opposition walked out of Rajya Sabha over 'discriminatory' Budget, LoP Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge said, "...Yeh kursi bachane ke liye yeh sab hua hai (all this has been done to save the chair)...We will condemn it and protest against it. All INDIA alliance parties will protest...How will development happen if there is no balance?..."

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman refuted the allegations of the Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge of ignoring the states the names of which she did not take during the vote on account. She accused the Opposition of "misleading" the people. She drew the attention of the Upper House to the allocations which have been made in the case of Maharashtra and West Bengal. She was interrupted by members from West Bengal and she sought the attention of the Chair - Jagdeep Dhankar, to allow her to continue amid disruptions.

As Rajya Sabha proceedings started on Wednesday, the house witnessed a massive ruckus after Congress President and LoP Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge said that the Union budget has only served BJP allies' interests. This budget is just to satisfy BJP's allies, Kharge alleged. As soon as FM Nirmala Sitharaman rose to respond, several opposition MPs started to protest and many of them walked out of the house.

As Lok Sabha proceedings commenced on Wednesday morning, opposition leaders started protesting against the "discriminatory" Budget announced by Nirmala Sitharaman a day earlier. Opposition leaders were seen shouting slogans and questioning the Budget as speaker Om Birla was seen trying to manage the house.

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor from Thiruvananthapuram picked on the government's tax relief to corporates and capitalists while reducing the spending for key sectors including health. In his speech, took potshots on the Budget 2024, calling it an underwhelming budget, which had not addressed any of the key issues. He gave different names, with his colleagues jeering against the ruling BJP. He reminded the Saffron party of their loss in Ayodhya without referring to it, saying that the 'mandir' politics have been rejected by the people. It is a "name changing Government not a game changing Government," Tharoor said, adding that "rebranding" is what this government has done in the past 10 years. He also wanted to know why the government was keen on giving tax cuts to Corporates and forgoing its "astronomical share" in corporate taxes in the past five years.

AITC MP Sagarika Ghosh speaking in Rajya Sabha on Budget 2024: I rise to speak on behalf of my party on the Union Budget...Inequality, inequality, inequality, this is the fundamental crisis facing our country today. This inequality has not been addressed by this budget nor has it been addressed in the previous 10 budgets of this government. The government keeps on telling us that it is pushing us into more and more growth but it is pushing us into more and more inequality, this government is pushing us into the inequality trap.

The Paris-based World Inequality Lab has said in its 2024 report that India's billionaire Raj has replaced the British Raj. India in 2024 is more unequal now than it was in the 1920s in the colonial period (repeats that). That is the catastrophe of inequality facing us. That is why budgets need to be about real people, real India, real issues not about fantasy land, not about Disney land...The top 1% of India controls 40% of the country's wealth, real earnings of regular salaried and self-employed have declined or remained stagnant.

The honourable finance minister claimed that GST has benefitted the common man but the truth is 67% of GST is paid by the poorest 50% of India. India is a country where 800 million people still depend on free food. The Budget needed to address this inequality trap but it has failed to do so.

Ghosh also demands a time-bound and transparent audit of all centrally sponsored schemes.

Sribharat Mathukumili, TDP Lok Sabha MP from Vishakhapatnam thanked the central government for announcing Rs 15,000 crore allocation for the Amaravati project in Andhra Pradesh.

"We thank PM Narendra Modi and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman for allocating Rs 15,000 crore to Amaravati in the current financial year and the commitment to allocate more in the coming years. Amaravati is a historic and unique project. We have received about 33,000 acres from over 30,000 farmers without taking a single rupee upfront with the trust that we will develop and give back a world-class capital. But due to the damage of the last five years in the previous government, we lost the ability to do it. We need the support of the centre, and we appreciate the centre's response to that," the TDP MP said in Lok Sabha.

In the discussion on the 2024 Union Budget, Dayanidhi Maran of the DMK, launched a scathing attack on the Narendra Modi-led government. “Lakhs of crores of public money were spent to promote Modi ka guarantee before Lok Sabha polls. After the election, Modi ka guarantee is replaced with Modi ka insurance. Premium is being paid by the people to ensure he continues as PM,” the DMK MP said.

TMC's Abhishek Banerjee slammed the Modi-led government in Lok Sabha as he discussed Budget 2024 calling it a "budget without any vision, made to bribe two people and buy time before the government implodes". This coalition, he said, meant appeasement and compensation, asserting that budget has "more fiction than finance".

Here are some of the digs he took at the central government during his speech:

Prime Minister is on borrowed time.

No mention of burning Manipur in the Budget.

When a bridge collapsed in Bengal, PM said it was not an act of God, but an act of fraud. Every incident that has occurred under his rule, was it an act of God or act of fraud?

Abhishek Banerjee's acronym for BUDGET: B for Betrayal, U for Unemployment, D for Deprived, G for Guarantee with zero warranty, E for Eccentric, T for Tragedy.

They are saying that I'm reading from a paper, but the PM himself reads from a teleprompter.

BJP's guarantees come with zero warranty.

Too many rail accidents nowadays, but no mention of railway safety measures in the budget.

The Railway Minister has blood on his hands.

99 per cent of black money is back in circulation.

BJP should have had 80 women MPs under the 1/3rd reservation scheme, but they have just 31.

I challenge the FM to release the white paper that shows how much money has been given to Bengal after BJP's humiliating defeat in the state.

Modiji ki teesri baar, geerbo ke upar lagatar atyachar.

BJP doesn't have a single Muslim MP/MLA in Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha or any state assembly.

Sab ka saath, sab ka vikas becomes jo hamare saath, hum unke saath.

Farmer leaders after meeting Rahul Gandhi: "We were here to meet Rahul Gandhi. He listened to our demands. We had a long discussion on MSP with a legal guarantee. We were assured that the issues farmers and farm labourers faced will be raised in Parliament," one of the farmers part of the delegation said while speaking to media outside the parliament. Rahul Gandhi was present with the farmers when they spoke to the media.

Another farm leader said: "We also spoke with him about seeking an independent inquiry into the injustice meted out to farmers in Haryana. Haryana government fired bullets at farmers, and killed them, how can the same government conduct an impartial inquiry? So he had promised us that he would raise the demand for an independent inquiry."

Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi met a delegation of farmer leaders in the Parliament House complex. After the meeting, Gandhi said that the INDIA bloc will pressure the government and ensure that the farmers get a legal guarantee for MSP. The delegation comprised farm leaders from Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, and apprised Rahul of the issues being faced by the tillers.

Congress Rajya Sabha MP and former Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram targeted the central government and specifically FM Nirmala Sitharaman over an 'attack' on federalism.

"Why does the UPSC have to play a role in the appointment of the DGP of a state? Why should a state government not have the right to choose Vice Chancellors of the state universities? Why did this government treat Andhra Pradesh differently in the past? I don't grudge at all that you are giving relief to Andhra Pradesh and Bihar. What about the other states? We are a federal country. But this is a death knell to federalism...you cannot pick and choose, pick one state and deny relief to another state," Chidambaram said.

He also questioned Sitharaman why she ignored mentioning Tamil Nadu or even the word Tamil in her entire Budget speech. He also listed out five demands and sought reply from the FM.

"I have 5 demands which I would urge the finance minister to copy from our manifesto. My demands are:

1. Minimum wage of Rs 400 per day for every kind of employment.
2. A legally guaranteed MSP.
3. A write-off of the unpaid balance of interest for the instalment of education loans given up to March 2024.
4. Abolition of Agnipath/Agniveer scheme
5. NEET be scrapped, some states want it, let them have it, and exempt other states."

Discussion on Union Budget 2024-25 and J&K budget 2024-25 taken up in the Rajya Sabha: Congress MP and former Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram says FM Nirmala Sitharaman dismissed the serious issue of inflation in just 10 words in her Budget speech.

"I warn this government. You are taking inflation not so seriously. The last set of byelections punished you. You won't agree. Out of 13 seats 10 were won by the INDIA bloc. This is a punishment, if you don't take inflation seriously, you will be punished more. If you want to suffer the punishment, you are welcome," Chidambaram said.

K Suresh, Congress MP from Kerala's Kodikunnil constituency, raises concern over Nipah virus outbreak in the state and seeks a regular supply of monoclonal antibiotics. "It is deeply concerning that of the total of 99 Nipah cases reported in more than 2 decades between 2001 and 2023 in India, Kerala has accounted for 28 percent of the total confirmed cases in the country including the latest cases in Kozhikode. This along with the case fatality in the first outbreak, picking at 89.4 percent with 17 deaths out of 19 lab-confirmed cases in Kozhikode and Mallapuram, is a major cause for concern as the second wave is rising and the state government is not serious. A central government team should be sent, and the government should provide all required assistance to Kerala and ensure immediate help in the same. I demand the government should provide compensation to the families of the victims who lost their lives in Nipah outbreak. The Union Government should ensure supply of monoclonal antibiotics for the state and further take steps to provide urgent results of the samples sent to Pune virology lab."

June Maliah, TMC MP from Medinipur (West Bengal), in her maiden speech in Lok Sabha, highlights the poor infrastructure facilities provided by the Railways in the quarters allotted to the low-income groups in Kharagpur. She says, “The Railways don’t provide these colonies with basic infrastructure which is, water supply, electricity supply, and also sometimes toilets.” Municipality and the councillors face no cooperation from the Railways, she said. "I would on behalf of my people like to ask the Honourable railway minister, he has been to Khargapur and is aware of the situation, what steps have been taken to provide ownership rights to them, if not then why isn't the railways taking enough initiatives to develop this area. The people continue to live in such despair."

Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said in Lok Sabha on Wednesday that work on the Wadsa-Gadchiroli Railway line, which passes through Left Wing Extremism affected areas, has picked up speed after getting land and forest clearances.

Replying to a supplementary, he said the project is important as it passes through Left Wing Extremism-affected areas. Wadsa-Gadchiroli is an important project. It also provides a mitigation to left-wing extremism-affected areas. It is an important project for the poor people of the area, the minister said. However, the then Uddhav Thackeray government in Maharashtra had not provided the necessary clearances to it. Unfortunately, land acquisition support was not provided under the Uddhav Thackeray government, but when the Devendra Fadnavis and Eknath Shinde government came to power, it did good work on land acquisition, he said. All the land that was required -- around 220 hectares -- has been acquired. Work is progressing, he said.

Rajya Sabha has been adjourned till 2 PM. Earlier today MoS for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai spoke on J&K in the house. NCP MP Praful Patel among other MPs asked questions on the Union Territory. Similarly, Fisheries Minister Lalan Singh also responded to several questions posed by MPs on issues faced by fishermen, including hundreds of them being arrested by Sri Lanka.

Farmer leaders invited by Congress MP and LoP Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi to meet him in Parliament are now allowed inside, to meet him in the LoP office on the Parliament premises. Earlier in the day, Rahul Gandhi said, "We had invited them (farmer leaders) here to meet us. But they are not allowing them here (in Parliament). Because they are farmers, maybe this is the reason they are not allowing them in."

On opposition’s protest against ‘discriminatory’ Budget, FM Nirmala Sitharaman in Rajya Sabha says, "In every Budget, you don’t get an opportunity to name every state of this country...The Cabinet had decided to set up a port on Vadavan. But Maharashtra’s name was not taken in the Budget yesterday. Does this mean that Maharashtra feels ignored? If a particular state is named in the speech, does it mean that programs of GOI don't go to these states? This is a deliberate attempt of the Opposition led by Congress to give the impression to people that nothing has been given to our states. This is an outrageous allegation...”

Before the Opposition walked out of Rajya Sabha over 'discriminatory' Budget, LoP Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge said, "...Yeh kursi bachane ke liye yeh sab hua hai (all this has been done to save the chair)...We will condemn it and protest against it. All INDIA alliance parties will protest...How will development happen if there is no balance?..."

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman refuted the allegations of the Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge of ignoring the states the names of which she did not take during the vote on account. She accused the Opposition of "misleading" the people. She drew the attention of the Upper House to the allocations which have been made in the case of Maharashtra and West Bengal. She was interrupted by members from West Bengal and she sought the attention of the Chair - Jagdeep Dhankar, to allow her to continue amid disruptions.

As Rajya Sabha proceedings started on Wednesday, the house witnessed a massive ruckus after Congress President and LoP Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge said that the Union budget has only served BJP allies' interests. This budget is just to satisfy BJP's allies, Kharge alleged. As soon as FM Nirmala Sitharaman rose to respond, several opposition MPs started to protest and many of them walked out of the house.

As Lok Sabha proceedings commenced on Wednesday morning, opposition leaders started protesting against the "discriminatory" Budget announced by Nirmala Sitharaman a day earlier. Opposition leaders were seen shouting slogans and questioning the Budget as speaker Om Birla was seen trying to manage the house.