Sitharaman challenges Rahul Gandhi to prove claims on Union Budget

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has challenged the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandh,i to prove his claim that the Union Budget was “uninformed” as she dismissed the Congress leader’s allegations.

Speaking to PTI Videos, the Finance Minister reacted to Rahul's allegation that the Budget ignored unemployment, rural distress and a slowdown in manufacturing.

‘Absolutely no basis’

She dubbed Rahul’s charge as having "absolutely no basis" and accused him of making blanket claims without pointing out specific issues.

"I challenge him to point out any paragraph in the Budget that supports these accusations," she said, adding that the Centre had focused on youth skilling, entrepreneurship and emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence.

Also Read: 'Lacklustre', 'visionless', 'blind' to India’s 'real crises' — How Opposition sees Budget 2026-27

Elaborating further, Sitharaman provided details of the Budget that blends traditional support for agriculture and rural jobs with a renewed push for skilling and youth-centric training frameworks to meet emerging labour market needs.

‘Point out specific gaps’

"I would like him to give exact specific gaps in the Budget to prove each one of these things that he's throwing at the budget," she said, adding. "I challenge him on it."

Sitharaman further stated that it had clear provisions aimed at skilling the youth, promoting entrepreneurship and ensuring that emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence were fully integrated into future planning.

Also Read: Rahul Gandhi says Budget is 'blind to real crises', Sitharaman hits back

She said that the Budget focused on preparing young people for new opportunities while creating pathways for them to start their own ventures.

Questioning the basis of Rahul’s allegations, she sai,d “After providing for all this, where is he coming with these arguments? Please ask him to highlight any paragraph which reveals any of this.”

The backdrop

Sitharaman was responding to renewed criticism from Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who had attacked the government following the US announcement of a tariff reduction and accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of “selling out” Indian farmers.

The finance minister declined to comment directly on the charge, saying the matter would be addressed in Parliament by the commerce minister.

(With agency inputs)