New Delhi, Feb 11 (PTI) AAP leader Raghav Chadha on Tuesday accused the government of treating the middle class as a "skeleton without soul" in its pursuit of building a USD 5 trillion economy.

Participating in a debate on Union Budget in the Rajya Sabha, Chadha, a chartered accountant, said while the rich benefit from various schemes and tax incentives, the middle class is left with nothing despite their hard work.

Making a reference, he said, "In 1998, there was a US film 'Honey I Shrunk the Kids'. I feel in 2025, a film should be produced 'Honey, I shrunk the middle class'." The AAP leader said out of India's 140 crore population, only 8 crore people file income tax returns, of which about 5 crore file zero income returns. Only 3 crore people actually pay income tax, he added.

Citing CMIE data, Chadha said only 3 crore income taxpayers out of 43 crore middle-class Indians would benefit from the budget announcements.

He suggested reducing GST along with income tax relief to boost consumption, noting that "GST is paid by both poor and rich. Poor pays GST when he buys a matchbox, rich buys GST when he buys Mercedes." Raising concerns about increasing household debt, Chadha said the household debt to GDP ratio has reached 40 per cent.

"Middle class is forced to take loans to meet their daily expenses... The loan is not for asset creation," he said.

The AAP leader also criticised the government for discontinuing the separate rail budget and ending subsidies for senior citizens on rail tickets.

On international issues, Chadha expressed concern over the deportation of Indians from the United States and warned about potential impact of the Trump administration's economic policies on India's IT, textile, auto and pharma sectors.

He also highlighted the issue of rupee devaluation, saying it could lead to higher inflation as food and energy products become costlier.

Taking a dig at the ruling party, Chadha said BJP leaders who were vocal about rupee depreciation during the UPA regime are now silent on the issue. PTI LUX MJH LUX MR

Tax and fiscal policy: middle class excluded from benefits, urging GST cuts and income tax relief to boost consumption. Middle class economic exclusion in fiscal policy: a critique that budgetary measures and tax incentives disproportionately favour high income groups while only a small fraction of the population pays income tax. It urges reducing GST and granting income tax relief to boost consumption, warns of rising household debt driven by consumption borrowing, and notes distributive effects from ending the separate rail budget and senior citizen rail subsidies, as well as external inflationary risks from rupee depreciation and deportations.