'Give Facts of Your Argument, Will Listen': Sitharaman on Rahul Gandhi's Budget Critique

New Delhi: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday hit back at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's criticism of the Union Budget, stressing that the budget focuses on small and medium enterprises, farmers, and people working in rural areas amid global uncertainty.

"Politically, you want to criticise, you're welcome, please do it. But if you want to give me the facts on which you're basing your argument, I'm willing to hear and willing to reply to that," the Union Finance Minister said.

The leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, had taken to X earlier, describing the budget as being blind to India's real crises, highlighting issues such as rising unemployment, falling manufacturing, capital outflows, declining household savings, farmers' distress, and looming global shocks. He accused the government of refusing course correction and failing to address the urgent challenges facing the country.

Reacting to the remarks, Sitharaman said, "I don't know what course correction he is referring to. The economy and its fundamentals are strong. Global uncertainty is facing many of our sectors, for whom we have brought in so many different schemes for those small and medium enterprises, for textiles, for leather, for people who are working in the rural areas, schemes for benefiting them, for even the farmer and value addition, for women entrepreneurs, and self-help entrepreneurs."

The Finance Minister added that these measures are aimed at supporting the general public and ensuring they are insulated from external economic volatility.

"These are ways in which we are reaching out to the common small people to make sure that they don't have to face big changes in their life because of any volatility coming from outside," Sitharaman said.

Sitharaman also addressed the political dimension of Gandhi's criticism, noting that while political critique is welcome, it should be backed by facts.

Earlier in the day, Rahul Gandhi slammed the Union Budget 2026-2027, saying it is blind to India's real crisis and refuses course correction.

"Youth without jobs. Falling manufacturing. Investors pulling out capital. Household savings plummeting. Farmers in distress. Looming global shocks - all ignored. A Budget that refuses course correction, blind to India's real crises," Gandhi wrote on X.

Earlier today, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Union Budget 2026-27 in Lok Sabha, her ninth consecutive Union Budget.

Asserting that the Union Budget 2026-27 is driven by "Yuvashakti" and based on "three kartavyas," Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday proposed seven high-speed rail corridors, new dedicated freight corridors, and the operationalisation of 20 national waterways over the next five years as part of the Union Budget.

The Union Budget has outlined a major push for environmentally sustainable passenger transport, proposing the development of seven high-speed rail corridors across key urban and economic centres. These corridors will act as growth connectors, cutting travel time, reducing emissions, and supporting regional development.