NDTV Exclusive: Shashi Tharoor On Budget 2026

Senior Congress leader and MP Shashi Tharoor, speaking to NDTV on Union Budget 2026, offered a largely critical assessment, questioning the substance behind headline announcements on infrastructure spending, MSME growth, and tax simplification. While acknowledging improvements in defence allocations and some positive intent in healthcare and biopharma, Tharoor argued that the budget fails to address the income squeeze on the middle class, rising household debt, and weak consumption demand.

He flagged cuts in education, social welfare and scholarships, concerns over inadequate support for frontline health workers, and criticised fiscal consolidation achieved through expenditure compression. Tharoor also expressed strong dissatisfaction over what he termed the neglect of Kerala and other poll-bound states, warning that selective allocations undermine cooperative federalism.