Next budget to be over Tk 5 lakh crore

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday said the next national budget would be placed in parliament on June 13 and its size would be over Tk 5 lakh crore.

“We placed a Tk 4.64 lakh crore budget for the current fiscal year... We will place the new budget in the Jatiya Sangsad on June 13 Insha’Allah and its size will be over Tk 5 lakh crore,” she said while addressing an iftar party arranged for the leaders of different political parties at her official residence Gono Bhaban.

Highlighting her government’s various steps taken for the country’s development, she said the benefits of development are reaching the grassroots level.

“We are making all the arrangements so that everyone can lead a decent life with access to food, clothes, housing, education and medical care,” Sheikh Hasina said, adding that her gov-ernment wants to ensure basic rights for everybody.

To her, Hasina said, power is not something to enjoy; rather it is an opportunity to serve peo-ple.

“Following this ideology, I have been working for the development of the country and people are getting its outcome,” she said.

“Our aim is to reach the fruits of independence to every house so that every person gets a decent life,” the prime minister said, mentioning that 93 percent people have already come un-der the electricity coverage.

Noting that the living standard of the country’s people is enhancing, she said, “We have brought down the poverty rate to 21 percent from 41 percent and slash the extreme poverty rate to 11 percent ... there will not be any extreme poor in the country, Insha’Allah.”

The prime minister sought cooperation from all in making Bangladesh a developed and prosperous country freeing it from terrorism, militancy, drugs and corruption.

“It is my only expectation that you will pray for the country and people so that we can establish Bangladesh as a developed and prosperous country.”

She said Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman rebuilt the war-ravaged country within only three and a half years of its independence.

She also said that all the political parties in India unanimously passed the Land Boundary Agreement with Bangladesh. “We exchanged enclaves peacefully which, I think, created a his-tory in the world.”

Extending her Eid greetings to all in advance, the prime minister regretted that she will not be there in the country during the festival as she has some overseas tours at that time.

“I am very sorry that I cannot stay during Eid as I have a number of visits abroad ... I am going to Japan first, then I will visit Saudi Arabia to attend the OIC Summit and from there I will go to Finland,” she said.