Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday described the Indian middle class as a “victim of tax terrorism”.

His statement came ahead of the presentation of the Union Budget for the financial year 2025-’26 on February 1. Polling for the Assembly elections in Delhi will be held soon after on February 5. The counting of votes will take place on February 8.

In a video message posted on social media, Kejriwal expressed concern about the plight of the middle class in Delhi and claimed that they have been overlooked between the “notebank and votebank” politics of other parties.

The Aam Aadmi Party chief also said that the middle class in India had become the “ATM of the government”.

Kejriwal claimed that over 50% of the income of a middle-class household was spent on various taxes, including income tax, Goods and Services Tax and property tax. He claimed that approximately 2.16 lakh persons left the country in 2023 alone due to this “tax terrorism”.

“[Some] parties have created their votebanks in the name of religion and caste and they make promises for a few udhyogpati [capitalists/industrialists] so that they donate money to the parties,” the former Delhi chief minister said.

“Between this notebank and votebank, the middle class has been crushed,” Kejriwal claimed. “No party is today ready to talk for the middle class. They have suppressed and squeezed the middle class.”

The former chief minister urged the Union government to ensure that the upcoming Budget session addresses the needs of the middle class. He presented seven demands, including the removal of the Goods and Services Tax on essential commodities.

“They [Union government] should increase the education budget from 2% to 10%,” Kejriwal said. “The fees in private schools must be regulated.” Subsidies and scholarships must be provided for higher education, he added.

Kejriwal also said there was a need to increase the health budget to 10% and called for the removal of taxes on health insurance.

“The income tax exemption limit should be increased from seven lakh rupees to at least 10 lakh rupees,” Kejriwal said. He urged the Union government to reinstate the 50% railway concession for elderly persons and introduce retirement plans and pension schemes for them.

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