Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman during an interview with PTI, in New Delhi, Sunday, Feb. 2, 2025
| Photo Credit: PTI

Paraphrasing Abraham Lincoln, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday (February 2, 2025) described the Union Budget as “by the people, for the people, of the people”, and said Prime Minister Narendra Modi was fully behind the idea of cutting taxes but it took time to convince the bureaucrats.

“We have heard the voice of middle class” who had been complaining about their aspirations not being met despite being honest taxpayers, she told PTI in an interview.