Scenes from Lok Sabha during Budget 2026: Cheers, questions, and a largely quiet Opposition

As Sitharaman concluded her speech after about an hour and a half and tabled the Finance Bill, Prime Minister Narendra Modi walked up to the Finance Minister and greeted her. Sitharaman’s Cabinet colleagues from alliance partners — Rajiv Ranjan Lalan Singh (JDU), Chirag Paswan (LJP RV) and K Ram Mohan Naidu (TDP) — also quickly went up to her seat in the front row to congratulate her.

Later, the PM hailed the Budget as “historic”, asserting that it reflected the aspirations of 140 crore Indians and strengthened the reform journey. “This budget is the foundation for our journey towards a Viksit Bharat by 2047. This year’s budget will give India’s reform express new energy and new momentum,” he said.

On the Treasury side, Union Home Minister Amit Shah was seen interacting with a group of senior Cabinet colleagues, including Dharmendra Pradhan and Piyush Goyal. Apna Dal leader and Minister of State Anupriya Patel was seen interacting with MPs across party lines.

NDA MPs said the Budget showed “intention” to address the “distressing employment scene” and “address youngsters”, a support base the BJP is anxious about amid the jobs crisis. “I think there was a genuine effort to address the unemployment crisis.. But the finance minister chose not to flaunt them, kept it brief and business-like,” said a BJP leader from Madhya Pradesh.

Several MPs, including some from the BJP, however admitted it was a bit “ambiguous”. “There’s nothing exciting I could grab from the reading. I will have to study it to see what exactly she’s offering,” said a BJP MP who is also an industrialist.

Some MPs from poll-bound West Bengal and Assam expressed disappointment about the absence of state-specific announcements. “Odisha was mentioned more than West Bengal,” complained a BJP MP from Bengal.

Opposition quiet in the House

During the “Viksit Bharat Budget”, most Opposition MPs, including Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, were seen taking notes and sharing them among themselves, with limited disruption.

Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav, among the first Opposition leaders to arrive for the Budget, was seen deep in discussion with party MPs seated next to the Congress benches. Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra moved across benches, interacting with party colleagues ahead of the proceedings.

The only mild disruption came from a few MPs from Kerala. At the end of her speech, three Kerala MPs led by Congress’s M K Raghavan rose from their seats to ask, “What’s there in the budget for Kerala?” However, no one else joined in.

The Congress termed the Budget non-transparent and “totally lacklustre”, while the ruling party described it as “connected with every section of the society”. Congress MP Imran Masood questioned why allocations for Uttar Pradesh appeared concentrated around Varanasi, the PM’s constituency. “Uttar Pradesh is bigger than Varanasi. There is nothing for the average citizen,” he said.

Later, Akhilesh described the Budget as “beyond comprehension” for the poor. He alleged that key sectors such as education and health had been neglected and said the Budget offered “dreams” rather than solutions.

Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi rated the Budget “four out of ten”, calling it disappointing. “The markets have already given their verdict. Everything is in the red,” she said.