Mumbai: Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray on Sunday, February 1, criticized the Union Budget 2026 presented by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, alleging that the government has neglected Maharashtra despite the state being the largest contributor to the Union Treasury.
He pointed out that FM Sitharaman forgot or successfully eradicated the 4 castes she had identified in 2024, including Women, Farmers, Youth and Poor/needy. “Thinking beyond elections would be truly a gift for India,” he said.
In a post on his official X handle, Thackeray also raised concerns about the clarity and implementation of key proposals, including the Mumbai-Pune High-Speed Rail project. He questioned, “Does it mean bullet train? Vande Bharat? An increase in speed for the current ones? What’s the timeline? Fully funded by GoI or does it have GoM contribution?”
Additionally, he criticized the allocation of approximately Rs 5,000 crore for urbanisation, calling it ‘a big joke’, adding that “It will be about identifying City Economic Regions in tier 2 and 3 cities, beyond which, everything is vague!” He further called the Budget 2026 ‘vision-less on climate action’.
Meanwhile, the FM delivered a 1-hour and 25-minute-long (85-minute) speech, marking the first time the Budget was presented from Kartavya Bhavan. Beginning at 11 am in Parliament, Sitharaman outlined the government’s fiscal priorities, reform agenda and long-term growth strategy amid global economic uncertainty.
The Budget continued the government’s strong infrastructure push, with capital expenditure raised to Rs 12.2 lakh crore, alongside new initiatives in high-speed rail corridors, inland waterways, and private infrastructure financing.
However, Sitharaman avoided major populist tax announcements, keeping income tax slabs unchanged, while announcing compliance simplification through the new Income Tax Act, 2025, set to take effect from April 2026.
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