New Delhi, Feb 10 (PTI) The opposition on Monday slammed the government for making little provisions for the common man in the Union Budget, saying the tax relief for the middle class was like an "economic sugar rush" which will have no long-term benefit.

Participating in the debate on the Union Budget in the Lok Sabha, DMK's Dayanidhi Maran said preference has been given to the corporates and not the common man.

The debate on the Union Budget began on Friday.

Maran claimed that prices of essential commodities were going up which were hurting the interests of the poor and the middle classes.

Dubbing the budgetary provision as "unjust", he said it does not take care of the interests of people.

The DMK leader also accused the Modi government of coming out with budgets in successive years which have focussed on poll-going states keeping in mind political gains.

Taking a swipe at the finance minister, he said whenever the opposition flags the falling value of the rupee, Nirmala Sitharaman always responds saying the rupee is not getting weaker but the USD was emerging stronger.

Referring to the outcome of the Delhi Assembly polls, he said the tax benefit proposed in the Union Budget for the middle class helped the BJP. But, Maran, said that less than three crore people will actually benefit.

He said the tax relief was like an "economic sugar rush" which was untenable for a long term.

Manish Tewari of the Congress claimed that in the past one decade the government debts have soared which has created problems for the future generation.

He described the debt on the government as "inter-generational debt".

The Congress leader claimed that while the common man continues to face problems due to the government's economic policies, the agriculture sector too was in a bad shape. He wondered how MNREGA man days were increasing if the farm sector was prospering.

During the course of their speeches, Maran and Tewari questioned the absence of Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. The Chair said the minister of state for Finance was present and the FM herself was in the Rajya Sabha.

Maran claimed that since the FM was not personally present, his party would boycott her reply to the debate. PTI NAB AS AS

Tax relief seen as short term economic sugar rush, benefitting few while leaving structural debt and price pressures unaddressed. Opposition views the Union Budget's middle class tax relief as a short term measure that benefits few and favours corporate interests, failing to tackle rising prices or structural economic problems. They warned of mounting government debt constituting an intergenerational debt concern and highlighted agricultural distress despite increased rural wage employment; the Finance Minister's absence from the Lok Sabha debate led to a party's announced boycott of her reply.