PM Modi hails ‘friendliest budget’ ever at Delhi election rally

PM Modi hails ‘friendliest budget’ ever at Delhi election rally

PM Modi hails ‘friendliest budget’ ever at Delhi election rally ByAlok KN Mishra Feb 03, 2025 03:33 AM IST Share Via Copy Link PM Modi said the AAP was disintegrating, in an apparent reference to the eight former AAP MLAs who quit the party and joined the BJP on Saturday.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday hailed the Union Budget 2025-26, calling it the “friendliest budget for the middle-class in the history of the country” and attacked the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)-led Delhi government for alleged “rampant corruption, and false promises”, while appealing to the people to help form a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in the Capital.

Modi also invoked former prime ministers Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi to take swipes at previous Congress governments, saying they charged heavy taxes from the people while the BJP government has eased the tax burden. (Arvind Yadav/ HT Photo)

Speaking in RK Puram on his third and final rally ahead of the crucial Delhi assembly elections, Modi sharpened his attack against Delhi’s ruling party, labelling it AAPda (calamity) once again.

The PM said the AAP was disintegrating, in an apparent reference to the eight former AAP MLAs who quit the party and joined the BJP on Saturday.

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“In Delhi, the broom’s (AAP election symbol) straws are falling apart even before the voting begins. The leaders of AAP are leaving it. They have realised how angry the people are with AAP on the ground. The mask of AAP has been removed in front of the people of Delhi,” Modi said, speaking at Central Park, in Sector 12 of RK Puram.

Responding to the PM’s allegations, the AAP said the BJP has “no vision for Delhi”. “Their [BJP’s] election campaign revolves around attacking and hurling abuses at Arvind Kejriwal. Even in the last leg of his campaign, PM Modi offered no vision for Delhi and its people. Int he Delhi model [of AAP], public funds are used for the people, through free electricity, water, health care, bus travel, or education. Under this model, Delhi has the lowest inflation, and least unemployment rate in the country,” AAP said in a statement.

Modi said the latest budget will help the middle class save thousands of rupees. “Since the budget was presented yesterday, the entire middle class is saying that this budget is the friendliest for the middle class in the history of India. Our government has completely reduced the income tax to zero on income up to ₹12 lakh. This will save thousands of rupees of middle-class people,” he added.

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Modi also invoked former prime ministers Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi to take swipes at previous Congress governments, saying they charged heavy taxes from the people while the BJP government has eased the tax burden. He praised the budget presented by finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday and made multiple references to tax relief offered to salaried employees earning up to ₹12 lakh.

“If you earned ₹12 lakh during Nehru’s time, the government would take back one-fourth of your salary on every income of ₹12 lakh. If it were Indira ji’s time then ₹10 lakh of your income up to ₹12 lakh would have been spent in tax. Till 10-12 years ago, under the Congress government, if you earned ₹12 lakh, you would have to pay a tax of ₹2,60,000,” Modi said during his 58-minute speech.

Delhi Congress manifesto committee chairperson and former Delhi Congress vice president Chattar Singh countered Modi and said the budgets during the Congress regimes were designed to uplift the poor and the middle class. “The Congress never taxed food items such as milk, curd, bread, and even on the pencil and note book of kids. The BJP has put GST on curd, milk, bread and even on the notebook of kids. The taxation system under Modi has been designed to loot the middle class and even the poor,” said Singh.

Several BJP candidates, especially from south, south west, and New Delhi districts, were in attendance, including Dushyant Gautam (Karol Bagh), Satish Upadhyay (Malviya Nagar), Parvesh Sahib Singh (New Delhi), Harish Khurana (Moti Nagar), Anil Sharma (RK Puram), and Neeraj Bassoya (Kasturba Nagar), among others.

Modi appealed to the people to not allow the AAP to form the government in Delhi “even by mistake”. “You have formed a solid BJP government at the Centre for the next five years. Now, even by mistake, an AAP government should not come here which would ruin another five years of Delhi,” said Modi. He also spoke of the raft of promises made by the BJP for Delhi. The prime minister sought to debunk “rumours” being spread by the AAP regarding the demolition of slums in the Capital.

“Those living in Sheesh Mahal do not see the poor’s slums and the two BHK of middle class… AAPda is spreading rumours, but mark my words that not a single slum will be demolished in Delhi. The public welfare schemes going on in Delhi will continue, none of them will be discontinued. Till now, more than 30,000 poor families in Delhi have been given their permanent houses by the Modi government,” he said, adding that “the BJP government is committed to providing every poor person with a pucca house”.

AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal has said in most election rallies that the BJP will demolish slums and stop all public welfare schemes such as free electricity and water supply if it gets voted to power.

Hitting back, AAP said PM Modi has destroyed employment opportunities. “PM Modi vowed to create two crore jobs every year — where are they? Today, unemployment has hit a 45-year high. The situation is so dire that 90,000 PhD holders applied for peon jobs in UP. Modi and his government have done nothing for farmers either,” AAP’s statement added.

On the heels of the allocations made to Bihar in Saturday’s budget, Modi hailed Purvanchalis, a key vote bank in Delhi, and said the National Democratic Alliance government was working tirelessly for the people of the community.

“I have been receiving messages from people of the Purvanchal community since yesterday. It is coming because Modi has become MP from Purvanchal [Varanasi]. The people of Purvanchal made me MP and PM. For decades, the people under jungle raj and Congress have ignored the people of Bihar. But today, the NDA government is working tirelessly for Bihar. By announcing the Makhana Board, Bihar’s Makhana has been honored. Most of the Makhana farming families in Bihar are from Dalit backgrounds, and when I work for their welfare, these people (Congress) mock it,” said Modi.

Purvanchalis comprise migrants from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh living in Delhi, and are considered an influential voting bloc with significant influence to swing the outcome of election in over 20 of Delhi’s 70 seats.

He exhorted the BJP workers to intensify their outreach among people in the last leg of campaigning. “We must not miss the opportunity. Take at least five BJP supporters to the polling booth and get them to vote for the BJP on February 5,” Modi said.

The prime minister has addressed three election rallies since the polls were announced on January 7. Curtains will fall on campaigning on February 3 at 6pm. Around 15.5 million people are eligible to vote in Delhi on February 5. The votes will be counted on February 8.