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PM Modi took a dig at Congress, stating that during Nehru’s tenure, 25% tax was deducted on Rs 12 lakh income, and under Indira Gandhi, Rs 10 lakh out of Rs 12 lakh was taxed.
PM Narendra Modi addresses a rally in Delhi (Video screengrab/ANI)
A day after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Union Budget 2025, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday termed it “the friendliest” for the middle-class section of the country, and highlighted how the people of the country used to pay heavy taxes if they earned Rs 12 lakh per annum.
Taking a dig at the Opposition, primarily the Congress party, PM Modi said one-fourth of the salary would be deducted as tax when people earned Rs 12 lakh during former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru’s regime.
“If you were earning Rs 12 lakh during Nehru Ji’s time, one-fourth of your salary would have gone as tax. If Indira Ji’s government was in power, 10 lakh out of every Rs 12 lakh would have gone as tax. Until 10-12 years ago, under the Congress government, if you earned Rs 12 lakh, you would have to pay Rs 2 lakh 60 thousand rupees in taxes. But after yesterday’s budget of the BJP government, those earning Rs 12 lakh annually will not have to pay a single rupee in tax,” he said.
“Never after Independence have those earning up to Rs 12 lakh received such a relief,” PM Modi said.
“Our middle class has a huge role in the development of India. It is only the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) who respects the middle class and rewards the honest taxpayers,” the Prime Minister said at the rally at Delhi’s RK Puram area.
“After yesterday’s budget, the entire country is saying that this is the friendliest budget for the middle class of India,” he added.
“I guaranteed to make the four pillars of India strong to fulfil the dream of ‘Viksit Bharat’. The four pillars are — farmers, women, youth, and poor. Yesterday’s budget is the guarantee to fulfil such guarantees of Modi,” the Prime Minister said.
Hailing this year’s budget further, PM Modi said, “Our government has already established 10,000 Atal Tinkering Labs in government schools. Now, in the budget, it has been announced that 50,000 new Atal Tinkering Labs will be set up in schools.”
“For the youth of Delhi who wish to pursue research, the government has decided to provide 10,000 new fellowships,” he said.
SITHARAMAN CUTS TAXES FOR MIDDLE CLASS IN BUDGET
Sitharaman on Saturday announced significant income tax cuts for the middle class and unveiled a blueprint for next-generation reforms for Viksit Bharat as she treaded a fine line between fiscal prudence and providing a thrust to growth.
Individuals earning up to Rs 12 lakh in a year will not have to pay any taxes after she raised the exemption threshold from Rs 7 lakh. An additional Rs 75,000 standard deduction is available for the salaried class.
Presenting her eighth straight budget, she also altered tax slabs for people earning above this threshold to help save up to Rs 1.1 lakh in taxes for those with income up to Rs 25 lakh in a year.
The raising of the rebate leads to 1 crore people not having to pay any tax, she said.
The overall tax slab rejig will benefit 6.3 crore people or more than 80 per cent of taxpayers.
“The new structure will substantially reduce taxes on the middle class and leave more money in their hands, boosting household consumption, savings and investment,” Sitharaman said presenting what was dubbed as a ‘reformist’ budget for the next fiscal in Lok Sabha.