BJP’s ‘Vipda’ Govt’s ₹1 lakh crore ‘hawa-hawai’ budget exposed, Delhi to get only ₹78,000 crore

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has exposed the BJP’s ‘Vipda’ government’s ₹1 lakh crore ‘hawa-hawai’ budget for Delhi. Delhi Assembly’s Leader of Opposition, Atishi, revealed that Delhi’s actual revenue will be just ₹78,000 crore, a classic case of ‘jumla’ economics. She asserted that the government’s claim of ₹68,700 crore in tax revenue is also inflated—it’s actually just ₹63,000 crore.

Atishi stated that just as PM Modi made false promises to Delhiites, he has now misled the Rekha Gupta government—pledging thousands of crores but not allocating a single rupee in the budget. She further said that under Arvind Kejriwal, Delhi was the only government running at a profit, but BJP’s mismanagement has pushed it into a ₹13,000 crore deficit.

During a press conference, Delhi Assembly LoP Atishi stated that on the 25th, the BJP-led Delhi Government presented its budget for the financial year 2025-26 in the Assembly. “The Chief Minister, who also holds the Finance portfolio, repeatedly claimed the budget’s being ₹1 lakh crore. For the first time in Delhi’s history, she said, such a massive budget had been allocated for Delhiites,” she said.

The Delhi Assembly LoP however, exposed the reality behind these claims. She stated, “The CM is right. For the first time in history, the budget’s figures have been laced with so many falsehoods.” She stated that while the BJP is known for its ‘jumlas’, earlier, their jumle were at least about electoral promises—whether it was ₹15 lakh in citizens’ accounts or bringing back black money from Swiss banks. However, now, even budgetary figures are being manipulated with blatant lies.

Atishi described the so-called ₹1 lakh crore budget as ‘hawa-hawai’—nothing more than a baseless jumla . “The BJP-led Delhi government neither has ₹1 lakh crore in revenue nor can it generate such an amount,” she said. Breaking down the budget’s numbers, she pointed out that the government itself projected ₹68,700 crore in tax revenue, showing an increase of ₹10,000 crore over the previous year.

She further questioned why the Economic Survey was not presented a day before the budget, as has been the parliamentary tradition since 1951. “What was so inconvenient in this technical document that the BJP broke a 70-year-old parliamentary convention?” she asked. The answer, she revealed, lies in the numbers.

Atishi noted that if the Economic Survey had been tabled, it would have exposed the reality of Delhi’s economic condition—how much the real estate sector, services, small trading, retail, or wholesale trade were growing. Instead, the BJP government presented a ‘hawa-hawai’ tax revenue estimate showing a 20% increase from the previous year, despite their own central government’s Economic Survey projecting GDP growth at just 6.5%. “A 6.5% GDP growth and a 20% tax increase? This is some miraculous economics that only the BJP can conjure up,” she said.

“The BJP government has presented a completely fraudulent and baseless tax revenue estimate. This is precisely why the Economic Survey was not tabled in the Assembly a day before the budget,” asserted the Delhi Assembly LoP.

She explained that based on the available economic data for the country and Delhi, the city’s tax revenue for the upcoming financial year will be around ₹63,000 crore. “This means it’s ₹5,000 crore lower than BJP’s estimate. They claim a budget of ₹1 lakh crore, but now it stands at ₹95,000 crore,” she said.

The Delhi Assembly LoP further elaborated that the budget also falsely claims that a ₹15,000 crore loan will be taken against small savings. Atishi pointed out that unlike other states, the Delhi government cannot borrow from banks or the market and can only take loans from the National Small Savings Fund (NSSF). “As per NSSF rules, Delhi can borrow either 100% or 50% of the small savings deposited by its residents in post offices, PPF, and schemes like the Mahila Samman Small Savings Scheme,” she said.

Delhiites once had nearly ₹10,000 crore in small savings, allowing the government to borrow up to ₹10,000 crore. However, referring to 2023 figures presented in Rajya Sabha by Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary, she said, “Small savings deposits in Delhi have now dwindled to just ₹5,000 crore. This means the Delhi government cannot take a ₹15,000 crore loan as claimed in the budget—the maximum it can borrow is ₹5,000 crore.”

Exposing another fraudulent figure, Atishi said, “This reduces the actual budget estimate from ₹95,000 crore by another ₹10,000 crore. As a result, Delhi’s budget now stands at ₹85,000 crore.”

“The BJP also claims it is running Delhi’s administration in coordination with the Centre and will secure funds from the Union government.” Dismissing this, Atishi said, “Given the BJP’s track record, this is highly unlikely. The Centre has consistently refused to provide funds to our government, allocating just ₹950 crore in the past two years—and even that was not actually disbursed.”

Atishi stated, “The Delhi government’s budget document, however, claims that the Centre will provide ₹1,000 crore under the Central Road Infrastructure Fund and ₹6,000 crore for capital projects. If the BJP government were truly giving this money, it should be reflected in the Union Budget. When PM Modi allocates ₹1.5 lakh crore for Bihar to save his government or gives ₹60,000 crore to Chandrababu Naidu for political support, those amounts are clearly recorded.”

Examining the Union Budget, Atishi pointed out, “There is no mention of any funds allocated to the Delhi government. In Demand No. 86 of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, where the Central Road Infrastructure Fund is listed, only ₹396 crore has been allocated for capital expenditure for all Union Territories combined—including Delhi, Jammu & Kashmir, Ladakh, Puducherry, Daman & Diu, and Dadra & Nagar Haveli. This is another specimen of BJP economics’ miracle, that they will bring ₹1000 crore from an allocation of ₹396 crore, which too is meant for all UTs.”

Further, Atishi revealed that in the Union Budget, the Centre has allocated only ₹968 crore as “Grant-in-aid to the Union Territory Government,” the same amount that was previously given to the Delhi government. “There is no mention of the ₹6,000 crore they promised Delhi,” she said.

“Out of the ₹85,000 crore budget, ₹1,000 crore is to be reduced from the Central Road Infrastructure Fund, and ₹6,000 crore from the Capital Fund for Delhi. This means ₹7,000 crore has to reduced, bringing the actual budget down to ₹78,000 crore,” she explained.

Criticising the BJP’s claims, Atishi remarked, “They made tall claims of increasing Delhi’s budget, but the truth is, they have cut it down from the previous AAP-led government’s budget.”

She continued, “They are also troubled now. Earlier, they believed that PM Modi only promised ‘jumle’ to Delhiites. So when PM Modi said, ‘We will give you ₹7,000 crore, we will give you a loan of ₹15,000 crore,’ Rekha Gupta’s government trusted him. But who knew that just as he deceived the people of Delhi, PM Modi would do the same to the BJP’s Delhi government? He made promises, but when the budget came, not a single rupee was allocated.”

The Delhi Assembly LoP asserted, “Today, it has become clear that the BJP’s ₹1 lakh crore budget is ‘hawa-hawai’. The Union government’s budget document has punctured the bubble of their imaginary figures. The budget only has ₹78,000 crore, and Delhiites have been lied to.”

Highlighting the fiscal management under AAP’s rule, she asserted, “For the past 10 years, Arvind Kejriwal’s government had run a surplus economy—the only government in India that never operated in deficit. But in BJP’s first budget itself, they have pushed Delhi into a ₹13,000 crore deficit.”

“A government that was always profitable, the only government in the country that operated in surplus—BJP took over and immediately pushed it into losses through its plundering. It is crystal clear that the BJP has engaged in ‘jumlebaazi’ in the name of the budget. They have presented a ‘hawa-hawai’ budget before Delhiites. But soon, the truth about this entire budget will come before the people,” concluded the Delhi Assembly LoP, Atishi.