It’s anti-people budget designed to loot wealth: BNP

Staff Reporter :
The BNP termed the proposed budget for FY23-24 as anti-people and designed to loot several billion dollars of national wealth.

“The proposed budget is just an annual manifesto of the current fascist looter government to maintain the continuity of the economic corruption under the shelter of a corrupt regime,” BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said while speaking at a press conference at the party’s Chairperson’s office at Gulshan in the capital on Wednesday.

He also said “It’s just the budget of the plunderers made with the aim of looting billions of dollars in the name of development.”
The press conference arranged to give BNP’s formal reaction to the proposed budget for FY2023-2024.

Mirza Fakhrul said, the finance minister did not acknowledge the ongoing economic crisis, growing income disparity, dwindling foreign exchange reserves, rampant money laundering, and huge debt burden on the shoulders of the people of the country.

He also said it will not be possible to ensure people’s welfare through the budget which is unrealistic and imaginary.

Mirza Fakhrul, also a former college teacher of economics, said the budget is highly ambitious and implementable.

He said the government also did not give any outline in the budget about how to overcome the economic crises and challenges.

It also completely avoided the concept of good governance and justice, he added.

“No direction they made in the budget to prevent widespread corruption and money laundering. This anti-people budget will not play any role in protecting the national interests,” the BNP leader said.

“No major structural reforms have been undertaken in the past decade in policy issues, the banking system, the revenue sector,
or other essential sectors, including the financial one. There is no indication of these reforms in this budget either,” he said.

Mirza Fakhrul said, “The government this time gave the budget for plundering money smartly echoing the slogan of building smart Bangladesh. They (govt) are smart at stealing, including vote theft, bank theft, and money laundering.”

He also said all arrangements have been made in the budget to smartly loot crores of taka, plunder banks, and public money through a syndicate they nurtured.

The BNP leader said the ongoing economic and political crisis in Bangladesh has become the main national crisis of the country.
“It’s impossible to formulate a budget for the welfare of people and economy and implement it without democratic and accountable government,” he said.

“An accountable, democratic, and responsible elected government must be established to get rid of the ongoing national crisis. The only way to do this is to hold a free, fair, impartial, inclusive and acceptable election under a polls-time impartial government,” he said.