Ganoforum terms new budget anti-people, discriminatory

Terming the newly-passed national budget for the fiscal year (FY) 2019-20 an anti-people and discriminatory one, Ganoforum leaders on Sunday said the new budget will favour the wealthy people, bank looters and the corrupt.

Rejecting the new budget, they also said it will make the rich even richer and make lives of middle-class and poor people unbearable.

They made the remarks at a human chain programme to protest the national budget, organised by the party, a major component of Jatiya Oikya Front (JOF), in front of the Jatiya Press Club in the city.

Speaking at the programme, Ganoforum executive president Professor Abu Sayeed said the budget will be implemented through exploiting general people to facilitate dishonest businessmen, loan defaulters and corrupt people.

"Tax burden will increase significantly which will reduce net income of the working class and the collected revenue will be used to provide unethical assistance to fraudulent businesses," he said.

He also termed the budget contradictory to the ideology of Father of the nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

Ganoforum general secretary Dr Reza Kibria said there is nothing for the marginalised people in the budget for the upcoming fiscal; rather it is only to protect the interest of powerful quarter of the society.

Mr Kibria, son of former Awami League Finance Minister Shah AMS Kibria, said, "We are rejecting the budget and urge the government to announce a new election so that people can vote to elect their own government as the previous polls was full of flaws."

Condemning the killing of Rifat, who was stabbed to death by miscreants in front of his wife in Barguna district, Mr Kibria said such incidents are happening in the country as there is no rule of law.

Ganoforum's Dhaka South committee president Mohsin Uddin presided over the human chain while the party's executive president Advocate Subrata Chowdhury also spoke on the occasion.

[email protected]