Amit Shah hails 'visionary' budget, says 'middle class always in PM Modi's heart'

NEW DELHI: Union home minister Amit Shah on Saturday praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi and finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman for presenting a "comprehensive and visionary" Union Budget 2025.
Calling it a blueprint for a "developed and best India in every field," Shah pointed out key aspects of the budget, particularly the exemption of income tax up to Rs 12 lakh.
"The middle class is always in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's heart," he said.

In a post on X, Shah elaborated on the budget’s wide-ranging focus: "This budget, which covers every sector—from farmers, poor, middle class, women and children's education, nutrition, and health to start-ups, innovation, and investment—is the roadmap for Modi ji's self-reliant India."

The Union home minister further mentioned that the proposed tax exemption would "go a long way in enhancing the financial well-being of the middle class."
The budget, presented by finance minister Sitharaman in Parliament earlier in the day, includes a major tax relief: no income tax on earnings up to Rs 12 lakh, with the threshold rising to Rs 12.75 lakh for salaried taxpayers factoring in a Rs 75,000 standard deduction.
"To taxpayers, up to Rs 12 lakh of normal income (other than special rate income such as capital gains) tax rebate is being provided in addition to the benefit due to slab rate reduction in such a manner that there is no tax payable by them," Sitharaman said.
However, the full exemption applies only if taxpayers avail relief under various sections, such as Rs 1.5 lakh exemption under Section 80CCC and another Rs 1.5 lakh exemption on home loan interest payments.
The announcement was met with loud desk-thumping by the treasury benches, led by Prime Minister Modi. Meanwhile, the Lok Sabha was adjourned post-budget and will reconvene on February 3 at 11am.