MP Raghav Chadha responds to charges levelled against him by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman
Kanwar Inder Singh/ royalpatiala.in News/ February 14,2025
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Rajya Sabha MP from Punjab Raghav Chadha has replied back to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s statement, of using technical jargon to mislead the middle class and divert attention from real tax concerns. Responding to Sitharaman’s remarks, the AAP Rajya Sabha MP urged the Finance Minister to refrain from personal attacks.
AAP Rajya Sabha MP from Punjab, Raghav Chadha, has strongly responded to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s remarks during the Rajya Sabha discussion on the Union Budget 2025-26. Addressing the issue through a video message, Chadha stated that the Finance Minister made sarcastic comments about his statement and accused him of misleading the House. However, he was not given an opportunity to clarify his position in the Rajya Sabha, prompting him to address the matter directly.
Clarifying his stance, Raghav Chadha said that his speech on the Union Budget raised several critical concerns, including issues faced by railway passengers, financial challenges for the middle class, duties and tariffs imposed by the Donald Trump administration, and the depreciation of the rupee. However, the Finance Minister chose to ignore these substantive points and instead focused on a single example he had given to explain the concept of an income tax rebate.
“I stand firmly by what I said,” asserted the AAP MP. “The Rs 12 lakh tax relief provided by the government is neither a tax exemption nor a tax deduction; it is purely a tax rebate. This means that if someone earns even a single rupee beyond Rs 12 lakh in a financial year, they will have to pay income tax on their entire income. The Finance Minister attempted to technically complicate my example, implying that if a person earns more than Rs 12 lakh, they will have to pay tax on their entire income.”
Elaborating further, Raghav Chadha explained the concept of marginal tax relief, which is applicable up to Rs 12 lakhs. “For example, if a person earns Rs 13 lakh annually, should they pay income tax on the entire Rs 13 lakh based on their respective tax slab, or only on the Rs 1 lakh exceeding Rs12 lakh? The correct answer is that they will have to pay tax on the entire Rs13 lakh,” he said.
Giving another example, Raghav Chadha highlighted that if a person earns Rs12,76,000 per year, they will have to pay income tax on the full Rs 12,76,000, not just on the Rs 76,000 earned beyond the Rs 12 lakh threshold. “I provided this example to explain the concept of tax rebate, and I stand by my statement that even if someone earns one rupee over Rs12 lakh, they will have to pay tax on their entire income,” he added.
Raghav Chadha also expressed disappointment over personal remarks made by the Finance Minister. “She made personal attacks against me regarding my statement. I just want to say that I have immense respect and regard for the Finance Minister. She is far more experienced, senior in position, and older than me. My only request is that in the future, I hope she refrains from making such personal remarks and does not attempt to present simple tax concepts in a technically distorted manner before the public,” he said.
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