'You will not see a single Dalit, tribal...': LoP Rahul Gandhi targets Nirmala Sitharaman over budget-making process

Rahul Gandhi, Congress MP and Leader of Opposition (LoP) in Lok Sabha, trained guns at Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman over the budget-making process, a day before the presentation of budget 2025 in the Parliament. 

Gandhi flagged the alleged lack of representation of the marginalised communities in the budget-making process. "Tomorrow you will see that the finance minister will go with a briefcase. A photo will come. You will not see a single Dalit, a tribal, a backward class person or a minority in the photo. 90 officers will prepare the budget tomorrow. Out of 90, 3 officers are from OBC. Your population is 50 per cent and tomorrow if 100 rupees are distributed in the budget, then your officers will decide only 5 rupees", said the LoP while addressing a poll rally in Delhi, as quoted by news agency ANI. 

#DelhiElection2025 | Lok Sabha LoP and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi says, "...Tomorrow you will see that the finance minister will go with a briefcase. A photo will come. You will not see a single Dalit, a tribal, a backward class person or a minority in the photo. There are 90… pic.twitter.com/HNqcvDOTXd

— ANI (@ANI) January 31, 2025

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the budget tomorrow, i.e., February 1, in the Parliament. The budget session 2025 commenced today, with President Droupadi Murmu addressing a joint sitting of both the houses- Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. 

Meanwhile, Rahul Gandhi also slammed former Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, alleging that there is no representation for the backward communities in his team. 

"There are 9 people in Kejriwal's team. There is no Dalit, Adivasi, backward class or minority in this leadership team. This is also a party of 2-3 per cent," said LoP Gandhi. 

He also lashed out at the former Delhi CM for failing to clean Yamuna River. "Kejriwal had said 5 years ago that he would drink Yamuna water, and take a dip in Yamuna. He is roaming around with a water bottle and saying that the Haryana government or someone else has made it dirty. Kejriwal, the responsibility is yours. Our fight is based on ideology, our fight is not opportunistic", said Gandhi. 

Notably, the Delhi assembly polls will be held in a single phase on February 5, with the vote counting scheduled for February 8.