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In an instant reaction to the proposed budget, party standing committee member Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury said, “I think people’s lives and livelihoods, and humanity have been ignored in the budget.”
Earlier in the day, Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal placed a Tk 5,68,000 crore national budget for the 2020-21 fiscal year in Parliament.
Khosru, also a former commerce minister, said 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 a large portion of the total allocations has been given in the budget for mega projects, which is a questionable move at this time.
Khosru said mega projects should not have got priority at this time of pandemic as people’s lives and livelihoods are now at stake. “The higher allocation for the mega projects has been given for the continuation of the current trend of corruption.”
He said the government’s allocation for the health sector and the social safety net is not adequate.
The BNP leader also opposed the black money whitening option in the budget, saying it is an attempt to keep the corruption trend continue.
He said their party Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir is likely to come up with a formal reaction to the national budget at a virtual press conference at 4pm on Friday.