Anti-farmer, anti-youth and 'nothing for middle class', Amit Mitra slams Union Budget
Telegraph | 2 February 2026
Amit Mitra, the principal chief adviser to chief minister Mamata Banerjee, on Sunday termed the Union budget as anti-farmer, anti-youth and anti-weaker sections and asked who the budget was presented for as there was nothing for the middle-class too.
“I would like to raise questions regarding this Union Budget in the interest of the people. Several allocations have been slashed that would affect the lives of common people,” Mitra, former Bengal finance minister, told a news conference at Nabanna.
He said that the decision to reduce allocation for education would hurt the interests of the youths and hence, the budget should be called anti-youth.
“In 2015-16, the spending on education was 3.8 per cent of the total expenditure. But it was reduced to 2.60 per cent in this year’s budget,” said Mitra, adding that ideally, 5 to 6 per cent of the total expenditure should be allocated for education.
Mitra said that the Centre’s decision to cut down the subsidy on fertilisers clearly indicated its approach towards the rural populace, particularly the farmers.
“From 4.04 per cent of the total expenditure in 2025-16, the subsidy on fertiliser has come down to 3.19 per cent according to the budget estimate this year. This proves that the Centre cares least about the farmers and villages,” said Mitra.
He also said that the allocation for the welfare of the weaker sections (SCs, STs, OBCs and minorities) also went down significantly, dropping a clear hint that the Centre did not care about that section of the society.
“In 2015-16, 0.21 per cent of the budget was allocated for the welfare of STs, SCs, OBCs and minorities — the four weaker sections of the society. It has gone down to 0.19 per cent of the budget. They don’t care about the weaker sections of society,” the principal chief adviser to Mamata said.
Mitra said that he did not trust the promises made by the central government in the budget, as deviation from proposed schemes was a regular feature of the BJP-led centre.
“In 2024-25, a sum of ₹30,170 crore was allocated for PMAY (Urban). In the revised estimates, the figure had dropped to ₹13,670 crore and finally stood at ₹5,815 crore in actual expenditure. This is unbelievable,” Mitra said.
He added that that was why the chief minister termed the Union budget as anti-youth, anti-farmer and anti-weaker sections. “There is nothing for the middle-class, too. So, for whom is this budget actually made?” asked Mitra.