In a tweet after the Budget, he said, "Forget putting cash in the hands of people, Modi Govt plans to handover India's assets to his crony capitalist friends."

 

The Congress and the opposition came down heavily on the Centre after the Union Budget presentation by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

 

Ahead of the Budget, the Congress had sought the repeal of the farm laws and more expenditure on the agriculture sector.

 

Rahul Gandhi had said, "Support MSMEs, farmers and workers to generate employment, and increase Healthcare expenditure to save lives. Increase Defence expenditure to safeguard borders."

 

The Congress had earlier stated that the Modi government should impart a large fiscal stimulus to the economy, even if it was belated. "Such a stimulus alone will put money in the hands of the people," the party had said.

 

The Congress leaders had asked the Centre to make direct cash transfers to 20-30 per cent of the families who are at the bottom of the economy for a period of at least six months.

 

It also asked the government to formulate and implement a rescue plan for the MSMEs to revive closed units, recover lost jobs and create new jobs for those who had moderate education and skills, and also reduce tax rates, especially GST and other indirect tax rates on petrol and diesel.

 

The party said the government should increase government capital expenditure and encourage public sector banks to lend without fear of investigative agencies probing every loan.