The West Bengal unit of the BJP on Saturday called the Union Budget, presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, “historic” for giving Income Tax relief to people.

“Yesterday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had hinted that there would be good news for the middle class and women… Today, in the Budget announcement, we saw that big steps have been taken that will benefit all sections of society. When Modi came to power in 2014, the Income Tax rebate was Rs 2.5 lakh. Now, this year it has been increased to Rs 12 lakh. It’s good news for the middle class. We want to say Modi hai toh mumkin hai,” BJP state general secretary Jagannath Chattopadhyay said.

“This Budget will help the country to develop and move forward. This is a historical budget,” he added.

BJP’s Rajya Sabha MP Samik Bhattacharya said, “People are conscious enough to see the salient features of this Budget, including tax benefits for the middle class.”

Union minister and senior BJP leader Sukanta Majumdar said, “Sitharaman ji has presented a dynamic, people-friendly budget as the middle and the lower-middle class have been given great relief under the new I-T regime.”

Leader of Opposition in Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, said the Union Budget focused on ‘GYAN’ (Gareeb, Youth, Annadata Farmers and Nari)”. “Thrilled to know that no income tax has to be paid up to Rs 12 lakh. Huge relief for the middle class, the consistent tax players of the country,” he said.

Countering the TMC’s charge that there was nothing for Bengal in the Budget, Samik Bhattacharya said: “The TMC government in West Bengal has failed to ensure speedy implementation of Central projects, like the proposed airport in Malda, due to logjam in infrastructure support. The TMC should see its face in the mirror first.”