New Delhi, Feb. 1 -- Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday hit back at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's criticism of the Union Budget, stressing that the budget focuses on small and medium enterprises, farmers, and people working in rural areas amid global uncertainty.

"Politically, you want to criticise, you're welcome, please do it. But if you want to give me the facts on which you're basing your argument, I'm willing to hear and willing to reply to that," the Union Finance Minister said.

The leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, had taken to X earlier, describing the budget as being blind to India's real crises, highlighting issues such as rising unemployment, falling manufacturing, capital outflows, declining ...