Opposition questions Centre on price rise, growing inequality in Rajya Sabha

On Tuesday (February 10, 2026), the second day of the debate on the Union Budget, Opposition members in the Rajya Sabha raised the issue of rising prices and said the Union Government had failed to address it. In response, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) members said that, unlike in the United Progressive Alliance’s (UPA) tenure, inflation was curbed by the Narendra Modi Government, and Parliament does not discuss it anymore.

Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) MP Kanimozhi N.V.N. Somu compared the price of gold, petrol, diesel, cooking gas, and the rupee’s value against the dollar in 2014 and 2026. The prices of essential commodities had skyrocketed in the past few years, and several products were beyond the reach of the common people, Ms. Somu said.

“This government failed to create demand despite the Economic Survey’s focus on domestic consumption,” she said, adding that the Centre had betrayed the people by pushing anti-labour policies and ignoring the demand from farmers for a legal minimum support price. Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had turned a blind eye towards Tamil Nadu, Ms. Somu said.

Shiv Sena MP Milind Murli Deora, showcasing the trade deals India had inked with the European Union, the U.S., and the U.K., said developed countries would not have signed a deal with India had it been a “dead economy”.

“Some people overseas and, more importantly, right here, had the wilful ignorance to call our economy dead,” Mr. Deora said, apparently criticising a recent comment by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. “If India’s economy is dead, how is India the fastest growing major economy in the world? How is UPI processing over 70 crore transactions per day, making India the global leader in real time digital payment?” Mr. Deora said.

Surendra Singh Nagar of the BJP said the Centre had curbed inflation, and that was the reason Parliament no longer discussed price rise. Under the UPA, there was double-digit inflation, and the situation improved under the Narendra Modi Government, Mr. Nagar said.

Trinamool Congress MP Sukhendu Sekhar Roy, pointing at various reports on widening inequality in the country, warned of social upheaval if it was not addressed by the government. “We have never witnessed such skyrocketing inequality between the rich, super-rich, upper middle class, middle class, and the poor. If the situation is not brought under control, I am afraid the day is not too far when the country would be doused into social upheaval, in the way some of our neighbouring countries have recently seen,” Mr. Roy said.

The government claimed the economy was growing and investments had arrived, but youth unemployment was increasing and real wages were stagnant and “income inequality is at the highest since the colonial period,” Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MP Manoj Jha said. “Unemployment continues to be the biggest challenge. If it continues like this, the demographic dividend would become a demographic liability,” Mr. Jha said.