FM Nirmala Sitharaman, early on in her Budget speech, declared that changes to income tax, the most-awaited item of the Budget, will come in Part B. When there, however, she said they will come at the end, eliciting wild guffaws from eager MPs. But finally, when she announced that salaries up to Rs 12 lakh would be tax-exempt, the BJP benches broke into applause with chants of “Modi, Modi” and PM himself beating the desk.
But like the “tax tease”, there was a contesting refrain from the opposition, that every now and then let out a drawl “Kumbh mein marne qalon ki, soochi do, soochi do (Give list of those dead in Kumbh stampede)” and “provide stampede data with Budget data”.
An unprecedented protest over the Kumbh stampede marred the opening of Sitharaman’s speech. And when SP led the opposition, barring Trinamool, to a walkout, the scene threatened to be like Corona-time cricket matches played to empty stands.
Though the opposition relented and returned after a while, a divide down the middle marked the 75-minute performance, when only BJP thumped the tables and a stern looking opposition mutely mocked. Akhilesh Yadav even protested to BJP chants hailing the PM. The Budget showcased the political split on yet another national platform.
Rahul Gandhi, T R Baalu, Akhilesh Yadav, all top leaders were present on the opposition side, while the battery of ministers led by the PM provided backing to the FM.
In the grim chamber, Bihar provided the unlikely bond. As the FM made announcements from airport to Makhana board to Kosi canal for the state, the amusement was audibly bipartisan, interpreted as a tip to political compulsions.
The protests, customary applause and guffaws provided the only spark in the otherwise sedate affair that was Sitharaman’s eighth consecutive Budget speech.
