India, Feb. 9 -- When the Union Budget 2026-27 was presented in Parliament, most television screens carried the same image - the finance minister standing at the podium, calmly listing numbers that ran into lakhs of crores, speaking about several women's hostels that she intends to open.

A few hours later, another clip began to travel across WhatsApp, Instagram, X, and other social media platforms. The clip showed a news anchor bluntly asking, "Madam, what is in this Budget for the middle class?" The finance minister paused for a few seconds, smiled awkwardly, adjusted her papers, and then shifted the conversation to university townships. The clip spread like wildfire, not because it was disrespectful, but because it captured what millio...