Opposition corners Centre over unemployment, farmers’ woes during discussion on Budget in Rajya Sabha

The Opposition members highlighted issues such as unemployment, sluggish economy, and the impact of the bilateral trade with the United States on the agriculture sector during the debate on the Union Budget in the Rajya Sabha on Monday (February 9, 2026). The BJP said the country signed six trade pacts recently, which is an indication that India is becoming a global hub.

Senior Congress MP P. Chidambaram initiated the debate and termed the Budget as “forgettable”, which had been prepared by “a Finance Minister who forgot her promises made in this House last year.” He attacked the Union Government for not addressing unemployment, particularly among youth.

“Youth unemployment is 15%. Less than 25% of the workforce is in regular employment. There is a shift to self-employment, and more workers are in the agriculture sector than they were four or five years ago,” he said, pointing out the decrease in regular employment in the country. “In a country with 144 crore people, only 195 lakh, that is less than two crore, are employed in a factory. Manufacturing, which is largely factories, is stuck at 16% for many, many years,” he said.

‘What’s wrong with internship scheme?’

The Prime Minister’s Internship Scheme, announced in the last Budget, could offer 1,65,000 positions, the Congress leader said. “Only 33,000 were accepted. Are there no young men and women to accept an internship in big companies? And of the 33,000 that were accepted, 6,000 left the job. What is wrong with the internship scheme?” he asked and sought an explanation from Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

On the decrease in capital investment, he said that for almost 12 years, capital investment, gross fixed capital formation, is stuck at 30% of GDP. “Net FDI in 2024-25 collapsed to less than 0.09%. FPIs, [that is] foreign portfolio investors are pulling out. Private investment, although companies are cash rich, is stuck at 22% of GDP. In this situation where neither the public sector nor the private sector nor the foreign investor is investing in India, this government has cut capital expenditure. In the year 2025-26, they have cut capital expenditure by a whopping ₹1,44,376 crore,” he said.

In his speech, senior BJP MP Arun Singh said the whole world was turning towards India. “From credit rating agencies to global institutions, everyone is applauding India’s schemes, policies and systems, and they are seeing that the country is becoming a global hub. As a result of that, within a year, India has inked six pacts,” he said, mentioning the deals signed with Oman, New Zealand, the U.K., the EU, and the U.S. as examples. “The biggest among these deals is the India-U.S. trade deal, which shows India’s power, potential and ability that it is emerging as a global hub,” Mr. Singh said.

‘Surrender to the U.S.’

DMK MP P. Wilson said the Centre surrendered to the United States, and the entire nation was concerned about the “one-sided” trade deal. India is a proud nation and civilisation. This weaponisation of tariff should (would) have pressurised the government into submission,” he said. Mr. Wilson said the Budget had nothing for Tamil Nadu, which was retorted by Ms. Sitharaman.

Samajwadi Party MP Jaya Bachchan too raised the issue of unemployment, particularly among women. She demanded reforms in the tax structure for the entertainment industry. National Conference MP Chowdry Mohammad Ramzan raised the problems faced by the tourism sector in Jammu and Kashmir. Alleging that the Centre had sacrificed the rights of farmers in front of the United States, senior Congress MP Randeep Singh Surjewala said the Union Government failed to utilise around ₹1.17 lakh crore in six years from 2018-19 to 2023-24. “If we count till 2024-25, ₹1.7 lakh crore has been surrendered,” he said.