In a speech laced with sharp attacks on former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, peppered with references to historical invasions by rulers such as Nadir Shah, and accompanied by a flourish of Urdu couplets by Ghalib and Bashir Badr and Sanskrit maxims, chief minister Rekha Gupta’s maiden budget presentation was as combative as it was theatrical.
PREMIUM
Delhi chief minister Rekha Gupta presents the budget on Tuesday. (Arvind Yadav/HT Photo)
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Her marathon 2-hour-18-minute speech, her first while presenting a state budget as chief minister, was shorter than the combined duration of the previous two
Key highlights of Delhi Budget 2025-26.
A pitch for cooperation
The budget also marked a shift in Delhi’s power dynamics, signalling closer cooperation between the state, Centre, and MCD. Gupta highlighted a slew of central schemes — Ayushman Bharat, PM Surya Ghar, and the Central Road Fund — suggesting that political hostility had previously hindered Delhi’s development.
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Similarly, Gupta, a former MCD councillor, increased the budgetary allocation for the MCD by ₹2,100 crore while citing the discriminatory attitude of previous governments towards the local body. With the BJP on the verge of regaining control of MCD, she assured that local bodies would now receive their due share.
“We were also in the MCD and kept demanding funds. How will the garbage be lifted, drains cleared and roads be repaired when you do not provide share to the local body? Councilors did not get their funds and the (Delhi) government tried to keep everything in its own hands,” the CM said.
On a note of defiance and ambition, Gupta declared, “It will not be easy to bring Delhi back on track… but ‘Lehron se darkar nauka par nahi hoti, aur koshish karne walon ki haar nahi hoti’ (A boat does not cross the sea by fearing the waves, and those who try never fail).”
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Concluding with slogans of “Bharat Mata ki Jai” and “Vande Mataram,” she declared, “This budget is not just an economic document, but the clarion call of Delhi’s rebirth. Now Delhi will neither stop nor halt—it will run, it will shine, it will create history!”
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