Delhi Budget 2025: Poetry, potshots ring out in CM’s 1st budget speech

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.

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 Union Budget speeches presented by finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

She blamed the previous Delhi government’s clashes with the Centre for Delhi’s financial troubles and promised a revival with the BJP-led Union government’s support.

She said that her budget was not just a “document of figures”, but the “foundation stone of Delhi’s rebirth” as a developed city.

Target: Arvind Kejriwal

Even in his absence, Kejriwal loomed large. Having lost his New Delhi seat, he was not present in the Assembly, but Gupta took him on directly throughout the speech

Mimicking his speech patterns, she sarcastically referred to him as “Dilli ka Malik” (owner of Delhi), accusing him of selling grand dreams. “Dilli ka Malik had sold the dream of making Delhi like London to the people of Delhi. But broken roads, increasing traffic jams, electrocutions and incomplete projects have turned this metropolis into a chaotic capital,” she said.

While pointing at Atishi, the AAP’s leader of opposition in the house, Gupta contrasted the BJP’s governance with the AAP’s, promising to deliver where the latter had failed.

“You (AAP) made promises, but we will fulfil them. You abused the governments of the other states, we will establish harmony and work together. You made ‘Sheesh Mahal’, we will build houses for the poor. You installed pot toilets worth lakhs, we will make toilets for the people in slum areas,” she added referring to the Sheesh Mahal controversy surrounding the former official residence of ex-CM Kejriwal in Civil Lines.

She also vowed to convert the so-called “Sheesh Mahal” into a tourist attraction — “We will put tickets and show it to people,” she quipped.

Prose and poetry

Gupta’s speech was steeped in poetic references, drawing on Mirza Ghalib, Bashir Badr, and historical analogies to paint a grim picture of Delhi under AAP rule.

Citing Bashir Badr’s couplet, “Dil ki basti purani Dilli hai, jo bhi guzra hai us ne loota hai (The locality of my heart is old Delhi, whoever has passed by has looted it)”, she likened Delhi’s past few years to historical invasions.

“Delhi has been devastated dozens of times by foreign invaders. Be it Mongols or Afghans, Mughals or British – everyone looted Delhi and left after ruining it. The same has been done to Delhi by the state governments in the last few years,” she said.

“Delhi has been looted and destroyed many times — by Taimur, Nadir Shah, and Ahmed Shah Abdali—yet it has always rebuilt itself,” she said, casting AAP in the role of another destructive force.

She also invoked Ghalib to draw upon the city’s beauty and importance: “Ek roz apni rooh se poocha, ke dilli kya hai, toh yun jawab me keh gayi, yeh duniya maano jism hai aur dilli uski jaan (One day I asked my soul: ‘What is Delhi?’; it replied: ‘This world is the body and Delhi is its soul’).”

“Delhi is a living confluence of centuries of history, art, culture and traditions. From the heroic saga of the Red Fort to the prayers of Bangla Sahib, from the glory of India Gate to the divinity of Akshardham, every corner of Delhi tells a unique story,” Gupta said.

The budget laid out 10 focus areas, including infrastructure, investment, education, healthcare, tourism, pollution control, and Yamuna rejuvenation.

Gupta positioned her plan as a fusion of heritage and modern development, citing quotes from Swami Vivekananda to BR Ambedkar to Narendra Modi.

“This budget of ours is inspired by the principles of Baba Saheb’s ‘Samta’, Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay’s ‘Antyodaya’ and Mahatma Gandhi’s ‘Sarvodaya’ and our illustrious Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas and Sabka Prayas’,” CM said.

She also announced a verification drive to remove alleged illegal beneficiaries, particularly Bangladeshis and Rohingyas, from welfare schemes. “Whether it is ration, pension or any other scheme for economically weaker sections, we will verify and register the beneficiaries afresh,” she added.

Gupta pinned Delhi’s crumbling roads, overflowing sewers, polluted Yamuna, and failing healthcare on AAP’s governance, calling it a challenge even to “run the government” under such circumstances.

“The previous government has severely undermined the economy of Delhi,” Gupta said.

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.

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).”

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!”