Middle class, Bihar flavour of Sitharaman's eighth general budget

NEW DELHI: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman wore a silk saree with Madhubani art as she presented her eighth budget and the ruling NDA members rejoiced at every mention of Bihar, from enhancing the infrastructure at IIT-Patna to promoting tourism at destinations related to Lord Buddha, with the opposition taunting the government over its "coalition compulsions".

As Sitharaman rose to present the budget, the opposition showed some aggression by rushing to the well of the Lok Sabha, demanding a statement on the deaths in a stampede at the Kumbh congregation at Prayagraj and later, was stunned into silence as the finance minister announced zero income tax for those with an annual income of Rs 12 lakh.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi led the treasury-bench members in thumping the desks enthusiastically as Sitharaman announced the tax proposals and chants of "Modi, Modi" reverberated in the Lok Sabha chamber as the opposition watched in silence.

Earlier, the opposition members, led by Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav and Congress member Gaurav Gogoi, raised the issue of deaths in a stampede at the Maha Kumbh.

They chanted slogans, such as "Dharam virdohi sarkar down, down" (down with the anti-religion government), and the SP members trooped to the well of the House. After raising slogans for around two minutes, the opposition staged a token walkout of the Lok Sabha.

The Trinamool Congress (TMC) members did not join the protest staged by the other opposition parties.

Sitharaman was wearing a white silk saree with a golden border and Madhubani art, pairing it with a red blouse and a shawl.

Officials said the saree was presented to the finance minister by Padma Shri awardee artist Dulari Devi when she had visited the Mithila Art Institute in Madhubani.

They said Dulari Devi had requested Sitharaman to wear the saree when she presents the budget.

The finance minister entered the Lok Sabha chamber at 10:52 am and was greeted by fellow ministers and MPs.

The prime minister entered the Lok Sabha chamber shortly before 11 am amid chants of "Bharat Mata ki jai", which were countered by the opposition with "Jai Bhim" and "Jai Samvidhan" slogans.

A highlight of Sitharaman's budget speech was the mention of Bihar, where polls are due later this year and the JD(U)-BJP government, led by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, is keen to retain power.

The Janata Dal (United), led by Kumar, is also a key constituent of the ruling National Democratic alliance (NDA) at the Centre, where the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) does not enjoy a clear majority on its own.

The finance minister's announcements to set up a Makhana Board and farmer producers organisations for the product harvested widely in Bihar, a National Institute of Food Technology, Entrepreneurship and Management, and build greenfield airports in the eastern state set off the "Bihar" chatter among the opposition members.

Union minister Giriraj Singh was seen encouraging the members from Bihar to cheer the announcements related to the state.

After Sitharaman's speech, the prime minister walked up to her to congratulate her. Union ministers Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah, Nitin Gadkari, Piyush Goyal and others were also seen greeting the finance minister on the budget.