Corruption ke upar aap, Dettol se muh saaf kardo bhaiya?: Sitharaman's dig at Congress over Budget 2023

New Delhi, Feb 10: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday took a jibe at Congress when some Members of Parliament from the grand-old-party raised corruption allegations on the Centre.

Speaking during the general discussion on the Union Budget in the Lok Sabha, Sitharaman said, " Corruption ke upar aap, Corruption ke upar aap, kya baat kar rahe ho. Arre Corruption ke upar aap, Dettol se muh saaf kardo bhaiya. Congresswale. (You will speak on corruption, clean your mouth with Dettol first. You will speak on corruption, what are you saying?)

Sitharaman also hit at "an opposition leader" and the Congress for criticising the Union budget.

"We don't make policies keeping one person in mind unlike an opposition leader claimed. We make policies keeping everyone in mind. We are not the party that supports 'jeejas and bhatijas'. It is the culture of the Congress," Sitharaman said, reported news agency ANI.

The finance minister's remarks came after she noted that Congress-ruled Himachal Pradesh increased Value Added Tax (VAT) on diesel after coming assuming office last year. "You increased VAT on diesel in Himachal Pradesh. This is the culture of Congress. They will level allegations, walk out from the house but will not listen," she said.

"Punjab has increased VAT on petrol and diesel in February 2023, which will lead to an increase in the price of approximately Rs 95/litre," she added.

Speaking on a major goof-up by Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot who read out excerpts of the previous budget instead of Budget 2023-24, Sitharaman said, "There is some problem with Rajasthan, they are reading last year's budget this year. I pray to God that nobody should make such a mistake but today, it happened and so I have to mention it."