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

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has hit back at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for his ‘youth without jobs’ remark on Budget 2026, asking him to provide facts on his claims and asserting that the budget addressed the needs of all the sections of the society. Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday, February 2026, presented the Union Budget in Parliament. On economy, the finance minister also said that the fundamentals of it remain strong.

Nirmala Sitharaman said, “With due respect, I don't know what course correction he (Gandhi) is referring to. Economy and its fundamentals are strong. Global uncertainty is facing many of our sectors for whom we have brought in so many different schemes for those small and medium enterprises, textiles, leather...for farmers and women entrepreneurs.”

Addressing the media in the customary post-Budget interaction, the finance minister the government was reaching out to the common small people and make sure they receive the benefits of the schemes. Also Read | Govt cuts outlay for UPI, RuPay incentive scheme by nearly 10%

She was reacting to an X post by Rahul Gandhi which read: “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.”

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.”