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 theAAP MP. “The ₹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 ₹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 by using marginal tax relief in her calculations.
Elaborating further, Raghav Chadha explained the concept of marginal tax relief, which is applicable up to ₹12.75 lakhs. “For example, if a person earns ₹13 lakh annually, should they pay income tax on the entire ₹13 lakh based on their respective tax slab, or only on the ₹1 lakh exceeding ₹12 lakh? The correct answer is that they will have to pay tax on the entire ₹13 lakh,” he said.
Giving another example, Raghav Chadha highlighted that if a person earns ₹12,76,000 per year, they will have to pay income tax on the full ₹12,76,000, not just on the ₹76,000 earned beyond the ₹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 ₹12 lakh, their tax will be calculated on their entire income,” he added.
Raghav Chadha also expressed disappointment over personal remarks made by the Finance Minister. “She made personal charges against me. I will not respond to those charges, however I 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 hope is that in the future, she refrains from making such personal remarks and further that she refrains from confusing the public with technicalities in order to digress from the real issue,” he said.