Budget 2025: expressed discontent on Saturday after the Union Budget did not feature any initiative to ‘eliminate billionaire loan waivers’. The AAP leader asserted that a significant portion of the public treasury was allocated towards these waivers. His comments emerged just days ahead of the Delhi Assembly elections, amid an intense back-and-forth between the AAP and the BJP.
“A substantial portion of the nation’s resources is directed towards forgiving the debts of a select few wealthy billionaires. I had urged for a declaration in the budget to ensure that from this point forward, no billionaire’s loans would be forgiven… It saddens me that this was not accomplished,” he shared on X.
The former Chief Minister of Delhi also proposed that the funds ‘saved’ by his suggestion could be allocated to forgive home and vehicle loans for the middle class and farmers. He further suggested that these resources could potentially be used to ‘halve’ GST rates.
Budget 2025: Nirmala Sitharaman presents her eighth budget
presented her eighth consecutive budget to the Lok Sabha on Saturday, outlining a vision for “next-generation” reforms. Among the proposed changes are an increase in the FDI limit for the insurance sector and a streamlining of tax regulations. Sitharaman also exempted individuals with annual incomes up to ₹12 lakh from income tax and reorganized tax brackets as part of her Budget.
Arvind Kejriwal’s party colleague Sanjay Singh also expressed dissatisfaction with the Union Budget, arguing that small traders have been overlooked with no tax relief concerning their income of ₹12 lakh. The AAP MP reiterated Kejriwal’s suggestion — advocating for relief by “recouping the ₹16 lakh crore that has been waived for industrialists.”
“What advantages are small traders gaining from this? There has been no tax relief for their income of ₹12 lakh. Aam Aadmi Party’s national leader, Arvind Kejriwal, insisted that if you choose not to forgive the debts of industrialists, then you should refrain from forgiving the debts of your capitalist allies. If the ₹16 lakh crore forgiven so far is recovered, then GST and income tax rates in the country could be drastically reduced. This would provide significant relief to the middle class and the common person in this country. But this has not happened…” he stated.
(With contributions from news agencies)
