The Aam Aadmi Party has termed the budget released by the BJP-led central government on Saturday as a major disappointment. The party stated that the middle class, in particular, has been deceived, as there is no relief on GST or home loans.
Reacting to the budget, AAP National Convenor Arvind Kejriwal wrote on X that a large portion of the nation’s treasury is spent on waiving off the loans of a handful of billionaire industrialists. “I had demanded that the budget announce that no billionaire’s loans will be waived in the future. The money saved from this should be used to provide relief on middle-class home and vehicle loans and waive off farmers’ debts. Income tax and GST rates should be halved. I am saddened that this was not done,” Arvind Kejriwal stated.
Meanwhile, senior AAP leader and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh stated that Arvind Kejriwal had demanded that the government declare it would no longer waive off industrialists’ loans. He also pointed out that the Modi government has waived ₹16 lakh crore worth of loans for its corporate friends, and that money should be recovered. If this money were recovered, income tax and GST rates could be halved. However, the government made no such announcement, which means the BJP still intends to waive off thousands of crores of loans for big businesses and has no intention of recovering the massive outstanding amounts.
Sanjay Singh further said that while the government has given tax relief to those earning up to ₹12 lakh, small traders have been excluded from this benefit. “How will they be given relief? There was talk of doubling farmers’ crop prices, but the budget does not mention it. They had promised 2 crore jobs every year, yet there is no mention of this in the budget either. In short, this budget is designed to benefit only a handful of corporate friends,” he said.
Policy Expert Jasmine Shah explains why the budget is disappointing for the middle class
Senior AAP leader Jasmine Shah wrote on X that Budget 2025 is disappointing for everyone, especially the middle class. He explained in simple terms why it fails the middle class.
He pointed out that about 30% of India’s population is middle class, but only 2%—around 3 crore people—pay income tax. The rest, including the poor, contribute through indirect taxes such as GST and excise duty on petrol and diesel. Yet, this budget provides no relief for 98% of Indians.
Jasmine Shah stated that two weeks ago, Arvind Kejriwal had suggested seven major measures for the middle class. These included increased spending on healthcare and education, removing GST on essential goods, implementing a pension scheme, and providing a 50% concession on train tickets for senior citizens. However, the Modi government adopted only one of these measures—raising the tax exemption limit—which benefits only 2% of people. The remaining 98% were ignored, and this was merely a ploy to divert media attention.
He further criticized the budget for failing to address job creation or salary increases for 90% of Indians earning less than ₹25,000 per month. “What happened to the promise of 2 crore jobs per year? How many jobs were actually created last year? What is the target for next year? What happened to the pledge of doubling farmers’ income by 2022? There is complete silence on these issues. There is no plan to increase the salaries of ordinary people, even though the Economic Survey revealed that people’s incomes are lower today than they were six years ago.”
Jasmine Shah also highlighted that Budget 2025 is a major setback to India’s dream of becoming a developed nation because it significantly reduces the government’s role in education and healthcare. Arvind Kejriwal had urged the central government to increase the education budget to 10% of GDP, but instead, the Modi government cut it. “In 2013-14, the education budget was 4.6% of GDP, but now it has been slashed to just 2.5%. There is no mention of government schools in the entire budget. They announced increasing seats in IITs, but failed to address why 40% of faculty positions remain vacant—because there is no money to pay salaries,” he concluded.
