From ‘Copycat’ to ‘Kursi Bachao Budget' — Here’s what Rahul and other Congress leaders had to say about Budget 2024

As expected, leaders from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) cannot stop singing praises of the Union Budget 2024-2025 presented by Finiance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman earlier today. However, moments after Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Budget 2024 in Parliament, the Congress party launched a critical attack on the ruling Centre. They claimed that portions of the fiscal document had been lifted directly from their manifesto for the Lok Sabha elections held earlier this year.

Rahul Gandhi's "Kursi Bachao" Budget comment

Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi criticised the Budget, describing it as the "Kursi Bachao" (Save the Seat) Budget, aimed at appeasing the BJP's allies and cronies. He alleged that the document was copied from the Congress party's Lok Sabha polls manifesto.

"Kursi Bachao Budget. Appease Allies: Hollow promises to them at the cost of other states. Appease Cronies: Benefits to AA with no relief for the common Indian. Copy and Paste: Congress manifesto and previous budgets," Gandhi said in a post on X (formerly Twitter).

P Chidambaram takes dig at the Nirmala Sitharaman

Former Finance Minister and senior Congress leader P Chidambaram expressed his satisfaction over what he perceived as the government's adoption of ideas originally proposed by the Congress.

"I am happy the Union Finance Minister has virtually adopted the Employment-linked Incentive (ELI) outlined on page 30 of the Congress Manifesto," tweeted Chidambaram. He further noted his approval of the introduction of an apprenticeship scheme with allowances for apprentices, a concept detailed on page 11 of the Congress Manifesto.

Mallikarjun Kharge highlights 10 areas the Budget 2024 went wrong

The President of the Indian National Congress Karge called the Modi Government a "copycat" while going on to suggest that they could not even copy Congress' justice agenda properly.

Here’s an English translation of his tweet:

“The Modi Government's budget is distributing half-hearted "rewadis" to dupe its coalition partners so that the NDA survives. This is not a budget for "progress of the country", it is a "save Modi government" budget!

1. After 10 years, limited announcements have been made for the youth who are bearing the brunt of the slogan of two crore jobs per year.
2. Only superficial talks have been held for farmers, one and a half times MSP and doubling of income - all turned out to be electoral fraud! This government has no intention of increasing rural wages.
3. There is no revolutionary scheme for Dalits, Adivasis, backward classes, minorities, middle class and rural poor people like the one implemented by Congress-UPA. The word "poor" has become just a means of self-branding, there is nothing concrete!
4. There is nothing in this budget for women that would enhance their economic capacity and enable them to participate more and more in the workforce.
5. On the contrary, the government is patting its back on the back for rising inflation; it is robbing people of their hard-earned money and distributing it among its capitalist friends!
6. Less money has been spent on agriculture, health, education, public welfare and tribals than the budget allocation because these are not the priorities of the BJP. Similarly, Rs 1 lakh crore less has been spent on Capital Expenditure, so how will jobs increase?
7. Urban Development, Rural Development, Infrastructure, Manufacturing, MSME, Investment, EV scheme - only Document, Policy, Vision, Review etc. have been discussed, but no major announcement has been made.
8. Railway accidents are happening every day, trains have been stopped, the number of coaches has been reduced, ordinary passengers are troubled, but nothing has been said about the railways in the budget, there is no accountability.
9. Nothing has been said about Census and caste census, whereas this is the fifth budget which is being presented without Census! This is a shocking and unprecedented failure - which is against democracy and the Constitution!
10. On 20 May 2024, i.e. during the elections, Modi ji claimed in an interview that "We already have a 100-day action plan "...
When the Action Plan was there two months ago, they should have at least told it in the budget!
There is no plan in the budget and BJP is only busy in the action of cheating the public.”

Jairam Ramesh accuses Centre of stealing ideas from the Congress

In her Budget address, Sitharaman announced that the government would provide a month's wage to all first-time employees in formal sectors. This direct benefit transfer, disbursed in three installments, will cover employees registered with the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) and amount up to ₹15,000 per individual. The eligibility limit is set at ₹1 lakh per month, potentially benefiting 2.1 crore youth across the country.

Congress MP and communications in charge Jairam Ramesh also accused the Finance Minister of taking ideas from the Congress's "Nyay Patra 2024." He claimed the internship program announced in the budget was a clear adaptation of the Congress's proposed Apprenticeship Program called "Pehli Naukri Pakki."

He also insinuated that this particular scheme seemed to have been come up with in haste.
Ramesh critiqued the government's approach, describing it as a "festive offer" designed to capture headlines with arbitrary targets, such as the promise of one crore internships. He argued that the Congress's vision offered a programmatic guarantee for all diploma holders and graduates, rather than the broad and unfocused targets announced by the government.
Ramesh also pointedly criticised the government over a special package for Andhra Pradesh, highlighting a ₹15,000 crore allocation aimed at developing Amaravati, the state's capital city and a significant project for Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu. "Why has it taken 10 years to announce that what was already committed to in the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014 will be implemented?" questioned Ramesh in a post on X.