Staff Reporter :
The Voluntary Consumers Training and Awareness Society (VOCTA), a non-government voluntary organization dedicated to protect the consumers’ rights, on Sunday (May 5) urged the government not to increase pressure of taxes on the consumers, continue giving subsidy in the agriculture and fuel sector and remove the provision of black money whitening in the upcoming budget of 2024-25 fiscal year to be placed in budget session of Jatiya Sangsad (JS) in first week of June this year.
At a pre-budget press conference held at Jatiya Press Club, VOCTA has also demanded to ensure that inflation and market price of commodities and other products are not increased after placing budget in the JS, bringing black money holder under legal actions and taking stringent actions against the bank loan defaulters.
Khalilur Rahman Sajal, executive director of VOCTA, read out the written statement while its chairman Dhaka University Prof Dr. Hossain Uddin Shekhar, vice chairman Sanowar Hossain Nawroz, director (finance) Lutfar Rahman Leeton, directors Mizanur Rahman Talukder, Saidul Abedin Dollar, Dr. Latiful Bari, Mohosinul Karim Lebu, Fazlul Haque and Md. Nurun Nabi were present.
In the press conference, the VOCTA placed 19-point proposals to make the budget pro-people including increase budgetary allocations in the education and health sectors.