Amongst the many Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MPs who were thumping the desks and applauding the announcements, the most conspicuously elated face was of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's. As interim Finance Minister Piyush Goyal took centre stage to announce a slew of sops for farmers and middle class, the treasury bench of MPs chanted "Modi, Modi" -- turning the Parliament session into an election rally of sorts. Amongst the many Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MPs who were thumping the desks and applauding the announcements, the most conspicuous was Prime Minister Narendra Modi. For most part of Goyal's budget speech, Modi's demeanour was of a general who had his whole regiment behind him. A total contrast to this enthusiasm was the Congress party. And its chief Rahul Gandhi -- a new face in the front rows of the central hall of Parliament. Now, the internet, and the world per se, has been witness to Rahul Gandhi's serious demeanour. And winks and hugs. But today, especially today, Rahul's deadpan expression became the toast of the social media. He slumped, squirmed and slouched in his chair and bore a blank look on his face throughout the speech. And the world got to see it courtesy the Lok Sabha TV. The television channel showed Rahul's face just when Goyal announced the biggest sop for the middle-class -- full tax rebate till Rs 5 lakh income. Modi's sop opera It was raining sops for the middle class in the budget. Piyush Goyal announced that individuals with income up to Rs 5 lakh will get a full tax rebate. This essentially means that individuals earning an annual income of Rs 5 lakh will not be required to pay income tax. Till now, the income tax rebate was applicable to the income limit of Rs 2.5 lakh for individuals aged below 60 years. If you are investment-savvy, there is more good news for you. Individuals with gross income up to Rs 6.5 lakh will not need to pay any tax if they make investments in provident funds and prescribed equities. The Narendra Modi government's move can be seen as a huge measure to woo middle-class voters. Around 3 crore middle-class taxpayers will get tax exemption due to this measure. This move is expected to pay dividends for the BJP government, which has historically banked on the middle class as its voter banks.<doc-sep>FM Piyush Goyal: Committed to eliminating the scourge of black money; anti-black money measures taken have brought… https://t.co/eTBeV205z6 — ANI (@ANI) 1549003406000 Visuals from Lok Sabha during Finance Minister Piyush Goyal's speech #Budget2019 https://t.co/6wM8qU5Pkh — ANI (@ANI) 1549004404000 Budget 2019: How Narendra Modi, Rahul Gandhi reacted in Lok Sabha during FM's speech NEW DELHI: Finance minister Piyush Goyal's announcement of a tax rebate on income up to Rs 5 lakh drew huge applause from the treasury benches in the Lok Sabha on Friday.In his Budget speech, Goyal said annual income up to Rs 5 lakh will be tax-free for individual taxpayers. Taking into account the Rs 1.50 lakh investment exemption allowed, an individual taxpayer can save tax on annual income of up to Rs 6.5 lakh. Standard Deduction has also been raised from Rs 40,000 to Rs 50,000.The finance minister's proposal to double the income tax exemption limit to Rs 5 lakh from the next fiscal (tax slabs have not changed), as expected, drew a favourable response from the ruling side, who were seen thumping their desks. Prime Minister Narendra Modi too looked pleased. Along with other senior leaders, he thumped his bench as chants of "Modi, Modi" by BJP members filled the Lok Sabha, even as Goyal paused for almost a minute during the chants.Not just once, the usual sombre-looking Prime Minister applauded Goyal's speech several times.In contrast, Congress president Rahul Gandhi looked blank as he listened to the income tax proposals.Goyal announced various populist measures, including direct cash transfer to farmers, during the course of his speech, all of which were welcomed by a thumping of desks on several occasions.Goyal also made two references to Bollywood flick 'Uri.' "It was fun watching Uri. There was a lot of josh (energy) in the movie (Uri movie mein jo maza aaya. Jo Josh tha)," Goyal said while mentioning the future agenda. This prompted many members, including law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad to deliver the movie's dialogue "How is the josh".<doc-sep>Congress president Rahul Gandhi dismissed the big ticket announcement of assured income support to farmers in the Narendra Modi government’s last budget before Lok Sabha polls as “an insult” to them. Rahul Gandhi said the Modi government has “destroyed the lives of our farmers”. Responding to the Budget 2019-20 presented by Finance Minister Piyush Goyal, Rahul Gandhi wrote on Twitter, “Dear NoMo, 5 years of your incompetence and arrogance has destroyed the lives of our farmers. Giving them Rs. 17 a day is an insult to everything they stand and work for.” Earlier, Goyal announced the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman (PM Kisan) scheme to provide cash assistance to about 12 crore farmers in the country. He said the farmers would be given an assured income support of Rs 6,000 a year. The finance minister announced setting up of a fund, Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi with an allocation of Rs 75,000 crore for 2019-20. The scheme has been implemented with retrospective effect from December 2018. Goyal said an additional Rs 20,000 crore would be earmarked for the current fiscal year under PM Kisan scheme. He said the assistance to the farmers would be given in three instalments in a year. He said assistance of Rs 2,000 would be directly transferred to the bank accounts of the farmers in the remaining four months (since December 2018) of the fiscal year. Later addressing a press conference, the finance minister said the data about eligible farmers would be sought from the state governments. Goyal also took a dig at opposition leaders who accuse the government of not delivering on the promises made to farmers. He said, “Those sitting in AC rooms cannot understand the plight of the small farmers. Keeping this in mind, we have introduced Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi scheme. This is a historic decision.” “PM Modi has actually seen the problems of the farmers,” said Goyal. The PM Kisan scheme is aimed at providing cash assistance to small and marginal farmers having land holding of less than two acres.<doc-sep>Congress chief Rahul Gandhi said the party would meet the Election Commission on Monday. Congress chief Rahul Gandhi on Friday said "surgical strikes" -- one after the other -- will be launched on the Narendra Modi government in the coming days by his party. Hinting at the issues on which the "surgical strikes" will be held, he said the biggest one facing the country was joblessness and the government has "failed completely" to address it. The term "surgical strike" has been a running theme through the day, with NDA allies calling the budget a strike on the opposition. Welcoming the interim budget this morning, BJP ally Ram Vilas Paswan said it was the "second surgical strike". "The first one was on the border with bullets. This is the second one, as we are going into the 2019 polls with ballots. We will win with two-thirds majority," the Bihar leader told NDTV. A strong response came from senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor. "The so-called surgical strike in Pakistan did not prevent any of the bad things that have continued from there. If they (the NDA) call this a surgical strike, then we are anticipating failure in advance," Mr Tharoor told NDTV. At a press conference in the evening, Rahul Gandhi gave his take on the issue -- that "there will be one surgical strike after another on the Modi government in the coming days". The Congress chief told the media that the Rs 6,000 yearly cash for farmers was a pittance. "You can waive Rs 3.5 lakh crore loan of 15 people, but give only Rs 17 per day to farmers. What else is this if not an insult?" The Congress, Mr Gandhi said, would contest the elections on the issues concerning farmers, unemployment and attacks on institutions. "It will also be on the issue of Rafale," he added. The Congress said its detailed criticism of the budget will come tomorrow after it gets a chance to study the figures. The party told reporters that it will meet the Election Commission on Monday with a document it has prepared on Electronic Voting Machines. "The main issue with EVM is that there is a doubt among many, many people about the fairness of EVMs. We want to create a backup to the system," Mr Gandhi said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said the budget is a "trailer" for what is to come after the Lok Sabha elections.<doc-sep>
Finance minister Piyush Goyal’s maiden budget where announced schemes for farmers and the middle class drew applause from NDA leaders with some calling it a “second surgical strike” on the opposition. Congress president Rahul Gandhi though had a different take. The Congress chief refused to believe that the Budget was a surgical strike. “There will be surgical strikes on Modi government in a few months in the elections,” he said. Rahul Gandhi also asked Piyush Goyal why he didn’t speak about rising unemployment during his Budget speech. A National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) report, leaked to the media, recently suggested that unemployment in the country was at a 45-year high during 2017-18. Piyush Goyal rolled out the NDA government’s last budget ahead of the 2019 elections, announcing no tax on income up to Rs 5 lakh, a Rs 6,000 per year cash benefit for small farmers and a mega pension scheme for workers in the unorganised sector. The initiatives are designed to woo the middle class, address farm distress and boost private investment in an effort to shore up the political base of the BJP-led coalition. Watch | Budget 2019 tax proposals: Here’s who gains and how Bihar deputy chief minister Sushil Modi said the Rs 6,000 cash scheme for farmers will be beneficial for a state like Bihar where average land holdings is less than one hectare. “The budget has made the opposition, which was involved in baseless attacks, speechless,” he said. NDA ally and Lok Janshakti Party chief Ram Vilas Paswan said nobody has ever thought of a cash transfer scheme for farmers. “This is ‘surgical strike 2’ from Prime Minister Modi. The first surgical strike occurred on the border. Jawans fought it with bullets. Here, we will fight with ballots. We will win over 400 seats and the NDA government will be formed again. Narendra Modi will again become the Prime Minister of India. This budget has brought a huge relief for farmers of the country,” Paswan told ANI.