‘Don’t know where ‘Bharat’ is becoming ‘Viksit’: Minister Sudhakar says Union Budget 2026 fools people

BENGALURU: Reacting sharply to the upcoming Union Budget 2026, Higher Education Minister M C Sudhakar accused the Centre of misleading the public and burdening state governments, alleging that funds committed under key schemes like the Jal Jeevan Mission remain unpaid.

Speaking to the media, Sudhakar alleged that the Centre repeatedly announces new programmes in the name of cooperative federalism but later unilaterally decides funding shares and fails to reimburse states, leaving their finances in a grim condition.

#WATCH | Bengaluru: On Union Budget 2026, Karnataka Minister MC Sudhakar says, “Today, people are expecting another union budget, which… again, they are fooling the people of this country… A huge amount under the Jal Jeevan Mission is due… I think this is the standard way… pic.twitter.com/F0qxP7tlCR

— ANI (@ANI) January 29, 2026

“Today, people are expecting another union budget, which… again, they are fooling the people of this country… A huge amount under the Jal Jeevan Mission is due… I think this is the standard way of handling things under ‘cooperative federalism,’ where they keep announcing programs but then decide unilaterally how much the state governments have to pay, while the Union Government decides on the percentage it will cover… Finally, they end up not reimbursing the state governments after committing to the work. This is happening with various schemes… they’re going to keep fooling, and they keep introducing a lot of new initiatives; they keep changing the names… I don’t know where ‘Bharat’ is becoming ‘Viksit’… The financial situation seems to be very grim,” the minister said.

Meanwhile, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman tabled the Economic Survey 2025-26 in the Lok Sabha on Thursday.

The Economic Survey document, prepared by the Economic Division of the Department of Economic Affairs in the Ministry of Finance and formulated under the supervision of the chief economic adviser, provides insights into the state of the economy and various indicators for 2025-26 (April-March), as well as an outlook for the next fiscal.

The Budget Session commenced on Wednesday with President Droupadi Murmu’s address to both the Houses of the Parliament. The Budget session will span 30 sittings over 65 days, concluding on April 2. The two Houses will adjourn for a recess on February 13 and reconvene on March 9 to enable the Standing Committees to examine the Demands for Grants of various ministries and departments. (ANI)