BNP terms the budget ‘imaginary’

The BNP yesterday termed the proposed national budget for the fiscal year 2020-21 imaginary, blunt and unimplementable.

Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, secretary general of the BNP, made the statement while delivering the party's formal reaction to the proposed budget in a virtual press conference.

He also said that the proposed budget would only worsen further sufferings of mass people at this time of coronavirus pandemic.

The budget made the nation frustrated as it was not framed with the focus on protecting the lives and livelihoods of people, he said.

"This budget is literally nothing more than some imaginary and hollow rhetoric. The budget is not a people-friendly one," Fakhrul said.

Fakhrul also said that the government proposed huge allocations for mega projects and power projects only to pamper corruption and create scopes for the ruling party men to plunder public money.

Fakhrul, also a former teacher of economics, said the authorities should have presented a special budget considering the coronavirus situation and not a traditional one.

There is no specific proposal in the budget for building the foundation of a suitable economy by overcoming the corona crisis, he added.

The BNP leader also said that the allocations for health, education, social safety net and food security were not adequate.

The GDP growth and revenue collection targets which have been set in the budget amid the coronavirus pandemic is tantamount to a deception, he said.

"The target of 8.2 percent GDP growth is imaginary and attaining such a goal is too difficult and impossible."