Congress MP Imran Masood launched a sharp attack on the Union Budget 2026–27, calling it an “empty box” that offers no relief to key sectors of the economy. Criticising the Finance Minister’s proposals, Masood said the budget was “completely hollow” and failed to address the concerns of farmers, exporters and the common people.
“There is nothing in the budget. Exporters have received no relief, despite suffering losses due to exports to the US. Farmers have been completely ignored. No compensation or support has been announced,” Masood said, adding that even previously expected provisions were missing. “Earlier, we thought they might at least put some old items into the box, but now they have removed even that,” he remarked.
Echoing similar criticism, Congress leader KC Venugopal said the budget was a “total disappointment” for Kerala, pointing out the absence of any mention of a long-promised AIIMS for the state and lack of concrete allocations despite Kerala’s contribution to tourism, aviation and healthcare.
Congress MP Charanjit Singh Channi also objected to the timing and content of the budget, noting that no schemes were announced for farmers, labourers or the poor, nor was Guru Ravidas Ji Maharaj mentioned on his birth anniversary.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, however, defended the budget as growth-oriented, highlighting infrastructure spending, tax relief for the middle class and incentives to attract global cloud and AI investments.
