Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced an income tax exemption upto Rs 12 lakh, a slew of projects for Bihar, a new programme to benefit 1.7 crore farmers, new scheme for women entrepreneurs and customised credit cards for micro-enterprises, in her Union Budget for the fiscal year 2025-26 Saturday.

Opposition leaders have criticised the budget, calling it misleading and election-driven. While Congress leaders called it "weak" and "derailed," regional leaders accused the government of favouring certain states.

Here’s how political leaders and key figures reacted to the Budget:

'So many engines that the Budget is derailed': Jairam Ramesh (Congress)

Congress leader Jairam Ramesh mocked the finance minister’s claim of driving growth through four engines—Agriculture, MSMEs, Investment, and Exports.

"So many engines that the Budget has been completely derailed," he said.

Speaking to PTI, he accused the BJP of bending to foreign interests, stating, "The BJP led by Arun Jaitley successfully sabotaged the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act, 2010 when Dr Manmohan Singh was PM. Now, to appease Mr Trump, the FM announces that the Act will be amended."

'A let-down for the middle class': Dayanidhi Maran (DMK)

DMK MP Dayanidhi Maran dismissed the Budget as "disappointing" and an "election gimmick."

"The Budget is designed to woo voters in Delhi and Bihar, where elections are approaching," he said.

On the tax exemption announcement, he said, "The FM says no tax up to Rs 12 lakh, but then introduces a 10% slab for Rs 8-12 lakh. It’s confusing. The devil is in the details."

He also criticised the lack of attention to Tamil Nadu: "There is not a single word for Tamil Nadu or other southern states. The infrastructure focus is only on Bihar."

An anti-rural, anti-poor budget: Tejashwi Yadav (RJD)

RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav says, "...Today's budget seems to be discriminatory towards Bihar... I believe this is an anti-rural, anti-poor budget. Bihar is receiving no benefits from it. There was talk about building airports, but there’s no clarity on where, when, or how they will be built, or how much funding will be allocated..."

'The tax cut sounds good, but we need details': Shashi Tharoor (Congress)

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor acknowledged the tax cuts but remained sceptical.

"The middle-class tax cut is what BJP people are cheering, but we all await the details with interest," he said.

He also pointed out that fundamental economic concerns remain unanswered: "There are still key questions about our economy that the finance minister has not addressed."

Old material with new shining wrap: Manoj Kumar Jha

On announcement of formation of Makhana Board in Union Budget 2025, RJD MP says, "Google it whether Makhana Board already existed or not... This is an old material with a new shining wrap..."

'Why no funds for Maha Kumbh?': Akhilesh Yadav (Samajwadi Party)

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav questioned the Centre’s reluctance to allocate funds for the Maha Kumbh in Uttar Pradesh.

"If the UP government is facing financial issues, why is the Centre not giving funds? Rs 10,000 crore should be allocated," he demanded.

He also iterated his demand for army supervision of the event’s 'Khoya-Paya Kendra,' citing lack of trust in the state government.

Everything has been given to Bihar: Abhishek Banerjee (Trinamul Congress)

TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee says, "There is nothing for the common man in the budget. As you know that there are elections in Bihar this year, so keeping that in mind, the budget has been presented for Bihar. Everything has been given to Bihar. When the budget was presented in July 2024, everything was done for Andhra Pradesh and Bihar. For the last 10 years, BJP has been in power and Bengal has not got anything, it is sad and unfortunate..."

'The Budget is just a statement, not an economic vision': Manish Tewari (Congress)

Congress leader Manish Tewari criticised the Budget for being reduced to a "TV spectacle" rather than a policy document.

"It’s just an accounting statement—how much the government earned, spent, and whether there’s a deficit or surplus," he said.

"Where is the FDI? Where is the investment in infrastructure? Where are the jobs? This government promised 2 crore jobs per year—by now, we should have had 20 crore jobs," he remarked.

'Where are the solutions for farmers?: Rakesh Tikait (Farmer Leader)

Farmer leader Rakesh Tikait said the Budget failed to address key agricultural concerns.

"The government should focus on essential services like electricity, medical facilities, and education. Farmers are demanding an interest rate of 1% per year, but we will have to wait and see if that happens," he said.

He also called for "fair crop prices along with PM Kisan Samman Nidhi."

Middle class have been heard and I welcome that: Priyanka Chaturvedi (Shiv Sena UBT)

Priyanka Chaturvedi says, "It's a victory of the middle class; mainly because of them (BJP in Lok Sabha elections) being limited to 240 seats. In the last 10 years, the middle class had this demand - today they have been heard and hence I welcome that (no income tax on income of up to Rs 12 lakhs). Second thing, Bihar must be thinking if it can have an election every year..."