New Delhi, Feb. 1 -- With just hours to go before the Union Budget is presented in Parliament, Congress MP Manish Tewari on Saturday criticized the annual budget process, calling it 'nothing more than an accounting exercise' that simply tracks government earnings and expenditures.

In a post on X, Tewari argued that over the years, the budget has turned into a grandstanding ritual for the Finance Minister, comparing it to the President's address, and suggested that the government's income and expenditure statement could simply be presented in the House.

"What is a budget? It is nothing more than an accounting exercise. How much did Government earn and how much did it spend. Over the years it has evolved into an annual grandstanding ritua...