‘With due respect…’: Sitharaman responds to Rahul Gandhi's ‘youth without jobs’ remark on Budget 2026

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday hit back at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over his “youth without jobs” remark on Budget 2026, asking him to substantiate his claims with facts and asserting that the Budget addressed the needs of all sections of society.

Sitharaman presented the Union Budget 2026 in Parliament on 1 February. Speaking on the economy, she said its fundamentals remained strong despite global uncertainty.

“With due respect, I don’t know what course correction he is referring to,” Sitharaman said. “The economy and its fundamentals are strong. Global uncertainty is affecting many sectors, and for them we have brought in several schemes; for small and medium enterprises, textiles, leather, farmers and women entrepreneurs.”

Addressing the media during the customary post-Budget interaction, the finance minister said the government was focused on reaching the common people and ensuring that the benefits of its schemes reached them. Also Read | Govt cuts outlay for UPI, RuPay incentive scheme by nearly 10%

She was responding to an X post by Gandhi, in which he wrote: “Youth without jobs. Falling manufacturing. Investors pulling out capital. Household savings plummeting. Farmers in distress. Looming global shocks - all ignored. A Budget that refuses course correction, blind to India’s real crises. (sic)”

Nirmala Sitharaman further said that Self-Help Entrepreneur (SHE) Marts will be set up as community-owned retail outlets within the cluster-level federations through enhanced and innovative financing instruments. “We are reaching out to the poor, those in a different, difficult terrain or in rural areas,” she said. Also Read | Budget 2026: What may become cheaper and costlier in FY27? Full list inside

“Building on the success of the Lakhpati Didi Programme, I propose to help women take the next step from credit-led livelihoods to being owners of enterprises. Self-Help Entrepreneur (SHE) Marts will be set up as community-owned retail outlets within the cluster level federations through enhanced and innovative financing instruments,” she said.

The finance minister said, “The fundamentals of the economy remain strong, and that has come out even in the economic survey. So, well, politically you want to criticize...You are welcome, please do it. But if you want to give me the facts on which you're basing your argument, I'm willing to hear and willing to reply to that.”