Left parties launch Nationwide campaign against Union Budget 2025-26, call it a “betrayal” of people’s needs

Shimla, Feb 5,

The Left parties have launched a attack on the BJP-led Union Government over the Union Budget 2025-26, calling it a “betrayal” of people’s immediate needs while favoring corporates. In a joint press statement, leaders of the Communist Party of India (CPI), Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI-M), Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation (CPI-ML), Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP), and All India Forward Bloc announced a week-long mass campaign from February 14 to 20 to mobilize public support against the budget’s policies.

The Left parties argue that instead of taxing the rich and increasing public investment to generate employment and improve social welfare, the Union Budget 2025-26 favors corporate interests. They claim that the budget neglects critical sectors such as employment, food subsidies, agriculture, health, education, and rural development, with allocations either stagnant or lower when adjusted for inflation. The allocation for MNREGA remains at ₹86,000 crore despite rising demand, leaving rural employment concerns unaddressed. Meanwhile, the decision to raise the income tax exemption limit to ₹12 lakh benefits a limited section of taxpayers while failing to provide relief to the majority suffering from price hikes and high GST rates.

Strongly opposing the government’s approach, the Left parties criticized the continued privatization of public sector units, including power and infrastructure projects under the National Monetization Pipeline. They also condemned the move to allow 100% FDI in the insurance sector, calling it a clear attempt to hand over national assets to private corporations. The parties stated that instead of prioritizing corporate profit, the government should focus on wealth redistribution through higher taxation on billionaires and large corporations.

In response, the Left has put forward a set of demands for inclusion in the Finance Bill. They are calling for a 4% wealth tax on India’s top 200 billionaires, a legal guarantee for Minimum Support Price (MSP) for farmers, an increase in MNREGA funding by 50%, and the introduction of an urban employment guarantee scheme. They have also demanded a substantial hike in social security measures such as old-age pensions, increased spending on health and education to 3% and 6% of GDP respectively, and stronger allocations for SC/ST welfare, women and child development, and honorariums for scheme workers. Additionally, they insist on increasing financial transfers to states and scrapping petroleum cess and surcharges, which are not shared with states under the divisible pool.

The Left parties have declared that they will continue their protests to ensure these demands are considered before the budget is passed through the Finance Bill. The week-long mass campaign will see mobilization across the country as they seek public support against what they call a budget that deepens inequality and prioritizes corporate gains over people’s welfare.

Team Himachal Scape