Sat Feb 01 16:13:42 IST 2025: ## Congress Slams Union Budget 2025 as “Band-Aid for Bullet Wounds”

**New Delhi, February 1, 2025** – The Indian National Congress launched a scathing attack on the Union Budget 2025, presented earlier today, calling it inadequate to address the country’s economic crisis. Leading the charge, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi denounced the budget on X (formerly Twitter) as a mere “band-aid for bullet wounds,” criticizing the government’s lack of innovative solutions.

Party president Mallikarjun Kharge echoed this sentiment, calling the budget an attempt to deceive the public. He highlighted the income tax exemption up to ₹12 lakh, stating that the claimed annual savings of ₹80,000 per individual amount to a meagre ₹6,666 per month, compared to the ₹54.18 lakh crore collected from the middle class over the last decade. Kharge further accused the government of rebranding the Make in India initiative as the National Manufacturing Mission to conceal its shortcomings.

Jairam Ramesh, another senior Congress leader, pointed to four major economic crises— stagnant real wages, lackluster mass consumption, sluggish private investment, and a complex GST system—that the budget failed to address. He noted that the tax relief offered provides only limited economic impact.

The Congress criticized the budget’s lack of provisions for youth, women’s empowerment, the poor, and minorities, highlighting the unchanged MGNREGA budget despite soaring inflation. The party emphasized the government’s failure to improve workers’ incomes.

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