'High personal income tax collection doesn't mean suppression of middle class,' says FM Sitharaman

New Delhi: High personal income tax collection does not necessarily mean that the middle class is being suppressed or crushed in the country, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday said in the Rajya Sabha.

There is no evidence of any suppression of the middle class in the country, but there is evidence of middle-class expansion, she said while replying to a debate on the Union Budget 2026-27.

"High personal income tax collection does not necessarily mean that the middle class is being suppressed or crushed in the country," she said.

Sitharaman said steps taken in the Budget prove the country's resolve to build a resilient, self-reliant India and urged the Rajya Sabha members to ask their respective state governments to participate in schemes announced in the Budget.

She also countered the opposition charge of expenditure curtailment in several welfare schemes and said there is no denial or stoppage of funds to states on any schemes.

Comparing the expenditure on government schemes, she said only Rs 37,000 crore was unspent in 14 social sector schemes in the last 10 years, compared to Rs 94,000 crore during the UPA regime.

Sitharaman also rubbished Opposition criticism of announcing schemes without allocation, citing many cases during the previous UPA government.

She further said the Congress sheds crocodile tears on rising debt, as the government does not borrow excessively.

The finance minister said the Centre's fund is not a free pool of cash that can be used; it is the hard-earned money of citizens.

She further informed that the government has sent over Rs 48 lakh crore directly into accounts of beneficiaries through DBT and saved Rs 4.31 lakh crore by plugging leakages.

The Budget is never forgetful of past; it remembers fragile days, double-digit inflation, she said.