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Today in Politics: PM Modi to meet economists, experts for 2025-26 Budget consultations

Congress and BSP are holding protests across the country over remarks on Dr B R Ambedkar made by Union Home Minister Amit Shah while speaking in Parliament.

The PM has routinely held these meetings ahead of Budgets in the past too, including most recently in July after beginning his third term in office. (File photo)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to meet eminent economists and sectoral experts on Tuesday to elicit their views and suggestions for the upcoming Budget, a senior government official said.

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is scheduled to present the Budget for 2025-26 in the Lok Sabha on February 1, 2025. Besides economists and sectoral experts, Niti Aayog Vice Chairman Suman Bery and other Niti Aayog members will also attend the meeting.

The PM has routinely held these meetings ahead of Budgets in the past too, including most recently in July after beginning his third term in office.

Meanwhile, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar is headed to the United States on Tuesday for a six-day trip, the first high-level visit since Donald Trump won the presidential elections in November. It is not immediately known whether Jaishankar will meet any official in the Trump camp. The Republican leader will take charge as the US president for his second term on January 20.

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Cong, BSP protests

The Congress is set to organise the Babasaheb Ambedkar Samman March at the district-level across the country on Tuesday. “On 24 December, all across the country, we will hold Babasaheb Ambedkar Samman Marches and submit a memorandum to the President of India through District Collectors demanding Amit Shah’s resignation,” said K C Venugopal, the Congress’s general secretary (organisation).

The party has latched onto Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s comments on Ambedkar during the Constitutional debate in Parliament, and held protests inside and outside Parliament, including to demand Shah’s resignation.

The Congress has alleged that Shah’s remarks “belittled Ambedkar” and “deeply hurt those upholding constitutional values”. “Despite this, neither Shah, the Prime Minister nor the BJP has expressed regret. Instead, they provocatively defended their stance,” Congress general secretary (organisation) K C Venugopal said last week.

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The protest marches on Tuesday days ahead of the Congress Working Committee meeting in Karnataka Belagavi on December 26 and its ‘Jai Bhim, Jai Samvidhan’ rally on December 27.

It’s not just the Congress that is protesting against Shah; the Mayawati-led Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) is also calling for a nationwide protest over Shah’s comments. The party has also accused both the BJP and Congress of “disrespecting” Ambedkar’s legacy and “exploiting Dalit votes”. “In light of the disrespectful comments, the BSP is calling for peaceful demonstrations in district headquarters across the country tomorrow. I appeal to all communities to ensure the success of these protests. Those exploiting Ambedkar’s name for deceitful politics must be stopped,” Mayawati said.

Delhi Police to probe Parliament clashes

The Delhi Police Crime Branch is likely to visit the Parliament on Tuesday in connection with the scuffle that occurred on its premises, leading to the injury of two BJP MPs, an official source said on Monday.

A face-off between the Opposition and NDA MPs in Parliament over the alleged insult to Ambedkar left BJP MPs Pratap Chandra Sarangi and Mukesh Rajput injured on December 19. The BJP accused Rahul Gandhi of pushing them and inciting other members of his party, a charge rejected by the Congress leader. The same day, police booked Gandhi and others in connection with the matter and transferred the investigation to the Crime Branch.

– With PTI inputs