February 02 (TSP Bangla) – Amit Mitra, principal chief adviser to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, on Sunday criticised the Union Budget, calling it anti-farmer, anti-youth and anti-weaker sections. Questioning the government’s priorities, Mitra asked who the Budget was actually meant for, claiming it offered nothing for the middle class either.
“I would like to raise questions regarding this Union Budget in the interest of the people. Several allocations have been slashed that would affect the lives of common people,” Mitra, former Bengal finance minister, told a news conference at Nabanna.
He said the decision to cut allocations for education would harm young people and undermine their future prospects. Because of this, he argued, the Budget deserved to be described as anti-youth.
“In 2015-16, the spending on education was 3.8 per cent of the total expenditure. But it was reduced to 2.60 per cent in this year’s budget,” said Mitra, adding that ideally, 5 to 6 per cent of the total expenditure should be allocated for education.
Mitra said the Centre’s decision to reduce fertiliser subsidies clearly reflected its approach toward the rural population, especially farmers.
“From 4.04 per cent of the total expenditure in 2025-16, the subsidy on fertiliser has come down to 3.19 per cent according to the budget estimate this year. This proves that the Centre cares least about the farmers and villages,” said Mitra.
He also claimed that allocations for the welfare of weaker sections including Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Other Backward Classes and minorities had been significantly reduced. According to him, this sent a clear message that the Centre was not prioritising these communities.
“In 2015-16, 0.21 per cent of the budget was allocated for the welfare of STs, SCs, OBCs and minorities — the four weaker sections of the society. It has gone down to 0.19 per cent of the budget. They don’t care about the weaker sections of society,” the principal chief adviser to Mamata said.
Mitra said he did not trust the promises made by the central government in the Budget, alleging that deviation from proposed schemes had become a regular feature of the BJP-led Centre.
“In 2024-25, a sum of ₹30,170 crore was allocated for PMAY (Urban). In the revised estimates, the figure had dropped to ₹13,670 crore and finally stood at ₹5,815 crore in actual expenditure. This is unbelievable,” Mitra said.
He added that that was why the chief minister termed the Union budget as anti-youth, anti-farmer and anti-weaker sections. “There is nothing for the middle-class, too. So, for whom is this budget actually made?” asked Mitra.
