'If you earned Rs 12 lakhs in Nehruji's era...': PM Modi's scathing attack on Congress over union budget 2025

Ahead of the Delhi assembly polls, Prime Minister Narendra Modi took a jibe at the Congress party, invoking former Prime Ministers Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi to claim that their government imposed heavy taxes on people. 

Heaping praise on union budget 2025, presented in the Parliament on February 1, the Prime Minister emphasised that it has brought a huge relief to the middle class, for it would not have to pay "a single rupee" in taxes till income of Rs 12 lakhs. 

Addressing an election rally in Delhi's RK Puram, PM Modi said, "Let me present a picture before you. It will help you understand better and make it easier to explain to others. If we look at this budget—back in Nehru Ji’s time, if you earned Rs 12 lakh, the government would take away one-fourth of your salary as tax. If this were Indira Ji’s era, you would be shocked to hear that out of Rs 12 lakh, nearly Rs 10 lakh would go into taxes. That was the scenario back then, which is why I am explaining this today.”

"Even 10–12 years ago, under a Congress government, if you earned ₹12 lakh, you had to pay ₹2,60,000 in taxes. Now, after yesterday’s BJP government budget, a person earning ₹12 lakh in a year will not have to pay even a single rupee in tax,” he added. 

In the union budget 2025, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced that no tax would be payable till the income of Rs 12 lakhs annually- which is being seen as a major relief to the middle class, salaried people or corporates. 

Meanwhile, the Delhi assembly poll is to be held on February 5, with the vote counting scheduled for February 8. As per news scientists, there is being witnessed a triangular fight between the ruling AAP, the Congress, and the Bharatiya Janata Party, that has seen the exile in the national capital for the past 23 years.