Reacting to the Union Budget 2026, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor suggested that there was no mention of Kerala anywhere in the speech, except for “coconuts and fishermen”. Shashi Tharoor, who wanted to know what was in the state budget, said that any announcement about the All India Institute of Ayurveda was expected, but there was none in Nirmala Sitharaman’s budget speech.
“Where is the All India Institute of Ayurveda. Where is it? We wanted it in Kerala. We have a long tradition of Ayurveda. But we didn’t hear the name Kerala. We heard the names of fishermen and coconuts – that could be Kerala.”
“But when they talked about ship repairs, they mentioned the names of Varanasi and Patna but not Kerala. This is a bit surprising. But maybe there are more details in the budget document. I haven’t read it yet. But there were very few details in the speech,” the Congress MP said. Also read | What indirect tax measures did FM Sitharaman announce? Check the full list
Shashi Tharoor also used a cricket analogy to slam the budget and express his disappointment. Tharoor said Sitharaman’s budget speech appeared to have “lots of subheadings but very few specifics” and was “completely lacking” in an overall vision.
He also claimed that the biggest unanswered question that remained unanswered was about jobs and there was little information in the speech to indicate how employment would be generated in the country.
When asked if the finance minister “knocked it out of the park” or “missed the ball or was tripped up”, Shashi Tharoor said: “I don’t know if it’s caught her off guard yet, but she definitely seems to have missed the ball. She might have had edges in one or two places, but I’m not entirely sure we’ve gotten anything out of that bat yet.” Also read | The government is restructuring public sector PFCs, its arm RECs, as part of a larger vision for NBFCs
“On the big issues, there was nothing we could hear for the middle class and lower middle class. There was nothing for the states. In fact, fiscal devolution remains unchanged at 41 per cent and many states complained that they did not have enough to meet their own obligations to their citizens,” the former Union minister said.
He said it was a “real concern”.
