Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s pre-election interim budget on Thursday lacked any big populist announcement and kept the income-tax slabs untouched, with many in the BJP viewing this as a reflection of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “supreme confidence” about winning the general election.

On the ideological front, though, Sitharaman put the potentially polarising measure of “population control” — a term that in the Sangh Parivar lexicon alludes to the growth in the number of Muslims — on the agenda.

Sitharaman’s speech, which lasted less than an hour, focused on Modi’s long-term dream of achieving a “Viksit Bharat” (developed India) on the completion of the “Amrit Kaal” in 2047.

It also stressed the narratives Modi has already set for the Lok Sabha polls: “Garib, mahilayen, yuva and annadata (The poor, women, the youth and farmers)”.

But there was no big-ticket announcement to woo these groups that are, in the words of the Prime Minister, the “four big castes”.

In contrast, the previous Modi government had in its interim budget ahead of the
2019 Lok Sabha polls sought to woo the rural voter by announcing the PM Kisan Samman Nidhi — an annual dole of Rs 6,000 for small and marginal farmers.

It also announced a monthly pension of Rs 3,000 for unorganised-sector workers above the age of 60, based on contributions by the workers themselves.

That interim budget also contained income-tax relief — a full rebate for individuals with annual taxable incomes not exceeding Rs 5 lakh.

“The government has already achieved a lot and there is no need for any populist measure to sway the voters. ‘Modi Ki Guarantee’ is enough,” a BJP parliamentarian said on being asked why no major populist announcement had been made.

Union home minister Amit Shah said the budget “draws the road map to achieve PM Modi’s vision of a developed Bharat by 2047” and “sheds light on the milestones achieved by the Modi government”.

The scenes in the Lok Sabha during Sitharaman’s speech appeared to reflect the mood in the run-up to the general election: while Modi and other BJP members kept thumping their desks, there was near-total silence from the thinly populated Opposition benches.

Unlike 2019, no protests could be heard as the finance minister claimed big achievements by the government and castigated the previous UPA administration.

“With the whole-nation approach of Sabka Prayas, the country overcame the challenge of a once-in-a-century pandemic, took long strides towards Atmanirbhar Bharat, committed to Panch Pran, and laid solid foundations for Amrit Kaal,” Sitharaman said.

“As a result, our young country has high aspirations, pride in its present, and hope and confidence for a bright future. We expect that our government, based on its stupendous work, will be blessed again by the people with a resounding mandate,” she added, amid frenzied desk-thumping by Modi and other BJP members.

Earlier, chants of “Bharat Mata ki jai” had been raised when Modi entered the House. As he walked out after the speech, all the BJP members were on their feet, hands folded.

“There is supreme confidence among all our MPs that this government is set to return to power while the mood in the Opposition benches showed they had already accepted defeat,” a BJP parliamentarian from Bihar said.

The Opposition heard in silence as Sitharaman took a dig at the UPA government, claiming that “previously, social justice was mostly a political slogan”.

“For our government, social justice is an effective and necessary governance model. The saturation approach of covering all eligible people is the true and comprehensive achievement of social justice,” she said.

“This is secularism in action, reduces corruption and prevents nepotism,” she added, drawing loud applause from the government benches while Sonia Gandhi, seated in the front row across the aisle, and other Congress members remained mum.

The Opposition’s silence continued as the finance minister accused the previous administration of economic mismanagement and said her government would publish a white paper on “where we were before 2014 and where India stands today”.

A whiff of limited populism came in the announcements about the construction of 2 crore houses under the PM’s housing scheme in the next 5 years, and the enhancement of the “Lakhpati Didi” scheme’s target from 2 crore to 3 crore. Both measures seemed aimed at women voters.

The Lakhpati Didi scheme looks to train the 9 crore women associated with 83 lakh self-help groups across the country so that they can earn a sustainable income of at least Rs 1 lakh a year per household. The government has under the scheme also begun training women to become drone operators and entrepreneurs.

Population control

Sitharaman announced there would be a “high-powered committee for an extensive consideration of the challenges arising from fast population growth and demographic changes”.

“The committee will be mandated to make recommendations for addressing these challenges comprehensively in relation to the goal of ‘Viksit Bharat’,” she said.

Leaders of the RSS-BJP have repeatedly flagged what they claim to be a faster population growth among Muslims, portraying it as a challenge.

RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat had last October emphasised the need for “a comprehensive population control policy” to check any “population imbalance” in the national interest.

People react as they watch a digital screen at the facade of the BSE during the presentation of the Interim Budget 2024 in Parliament by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. PTI picture

Modi too had in one of his Independence Day addresses spoken about a “population explosion” emerging as a challenge but refrained from announcing any population control policy.

A BJP leader said: “Along with the completion of the Ram temple -- and with the pending issues of Kashi and Mathura already simmering -- the move to address population growth will power our election campaign.”