Most political parties except both factions of BNP criticised the proposed budget, terming it unrealistic and a recipe for further increase of prices of essentials.

Leaders of Awami League (AL) and Workers Party said that implementing this budget will be difficult for the next elected government while BNP and Jamaat observed that the caretaker government does not have the right to announce a national budget as it is a function of parliament.

However, Maj (retd) Hafizuddin Ahmed, leader of a BNP faction, termed the budget realistic while former minister ASM Abdur Rob said the budget would help reduce poverty.

Prof Ali Ashraf, former deputy speaker and finance secretary of AL, yesterday said, "The proposed budget will not resolve the present crises as it does not reflect the reality. It won't even help reduce poverty." He feared further price increase of essentials as the budget does not offer any remedies to the situation.

"The programmes and projects proposed under this budget will burden the next elected government that will find it almost impossible to implement the programmes," he told reporters at a press briefing at the Dhanmondi office of the party chief.

The AL will announce its formal reaction on the budget on Wednesday, Ali Ashraf said adding that the present government has failed to implement all the agendas it took on in the last budget including reducing inflation, ensuring food security, reducing income discrimination and unemployment.

Khandaker Delwar Hossain, the secretary general of BNP, rejected the proposed budget while speaking with reporters at his NAM flat. "The caretaker government does not have the constitutional right to place a budget. It has no right to impose an out-of-parliament tax."

"The entire nation is disappointed. So we don't want to make any comment on the budget," said Delwar.

Meanwhile, Maj (retd) Hafiz, the acting secretary general of the dissident faction of BNP, termed the proposed budget realistic. "The finance adviser has tried to face the reality, but an unelected government can't do something that an elected government can," he told reporters at his Banani residence.

Ali Ahsan Muhammad Mojahid, secretary general of Jamat-e-Islami, said the present government is an unelected government and according to the constitution, the announcement of budget is not under its jurisdiction.

Workers Party President Rashed Khan Menon said the government has already failed to resolve the people's present crises and "It [government] has placed a huge budget without consulting politicians although the budget will have to be implemented by a political government."

He however welcomed the proposal of forming a pay commission for government employees. This measure will not help the general people unless incomes of the working class and employees in the private sector are increased, he observed.

Terming the proposed budget 'traditional', Mujahidul Islam Selim, general secretary of Communist Party of Bangladesh (CPB), said the government has failed to implement all the agendas mentioned in the last year's budget.

There are uncertainties about the implementation of the proposed poor-friendly steps like gender sensitivity, subsidy on agriculture, recovering khas lands and administrative reforms, he said.

Jatiya Party (JP) said the proposed budged has frustrated the lower income group as there is no proposal to introduce the rationing system.

"The budget does not reflect the people's expectations as there are no effective proposal to reduce the prices of essentials," the party said in a press release.

Democratic Left Alliance leaders including Moshrefa Mishu, Khalequzzaman and Tipu Biswas in a joint statement said prices of essentials and power will increase as a result of the proposed budget.