The first budget of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s third term has been met with strong disapproval from the newly-strengthened Opposition. The Congress has been particularly critical, and its INDIA bloc allies have uniformly labeled it a “kursi bachao (save the chair)” budget. This term, coined by Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress, has found agreement with Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, though his main grievance lies elsewhere.

“It is understandable that they have to save their government and gave special packages to Bihar and Andhra Pradesh, but a state like Uttar Pradesh that gives the country its prime ministers, is there anything for the farmers here?” Mr. Yadav told reporters today.

“This is their 11th budget and it is strange that people are still alive. The problems that have been there before—inflation, unemployment—are still there. If we look at Uttar Pradesh, what is the status of investment? They talk about big numbers, but none of their big projects are finished,” he added. Mr. Yadav was also critical of the government’s major skilling program in collaboration with the private sector.

“They created unemployment for 10 years. And they hope to solve it now, that too with jobs in bits and pieces. The country’s youth need stable jobs. They are offering a paltry one-year training,” he said.

The Trinamool Congress, represented by senior party leader Kalyan Banerjee, was equally scathing. He mocked the special packages for Bihar and Andhra Pradesh, calling it a “Kursi bachao budget.”

“They have presented the budget for allies which will save their seats. This budget is to keep their NDA partners Nitish Kumar and Chandrababu Naidu happy,” he said.

Rahul Gandhi also used the “Kursi Bachao” label, calling it a budget that “appeases allies” and copies the Congress manifesto, in a post on X (formerly Twitter).

The Congress has further accused the government of lifting its flagship skilling announcement directly from their manifesto. Party chief Mallikarjun Kharge described it as a “nakalchi (copy-paste)” budget.

“I am glad to know that the Hon’ble FM has read the Congress Manifesto LS 2024 after the election results. I am happy she has virtually adopted the Employment-linked incentive (ELI) outlined on page 30 of the Congress Manifesto… I wish the FM had copied some other ideas in the Congress Manifesto. I shall shortly list the missed opportunities,” posted senior party leader P Chidambaram on X.

Kalyan Banerjee also highlighted that there has been nothing allocated for Bengal, where the BJP has lost ground. “This budget is not for India. They have not given anything to Bengal. They can’t tolerate Bengalis. The BJP will be wiped out of Bengal,” he added.

Former Bihar Chief Minister and RJD leader Rabri Devi dismissed the ₹26,000-crore support allocated to Bihar for the development of crucial projects, including road connectivity and infrastructure, as a “jhunjhuna” (child’s rattle).