It's budget for oligarchs: BNP

The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) on Friday said the proposed budget for fiscal year 2024-25 would help increase corruption and serve the interests of some oligarchs in the business sector.
Two standing members of the party, barrister Muhammad Jamiruddin Sircar and Amir Khashru Mahmud Chowdhury, made the comments on the budget separately.
Barrister Sircar said giving scope to whiten black money in the budget would rather help spur corruption.
He said this at a memorial meeting on former attorney general AJ Mohammad Ali at the National Press Club.
As prescribed in the budget, black money could be whitened by paying a 15-per cent tax.
According to barrister Sircar, paying a 15-per cent tax to government to whiten black money will make no big difference for those earning legally and paying taxes.
"Corruption will thrive if there is scope to whiten black money by paying taxes," he cautioned.
Drawing the government's attention to the provision of whitening black money, he said law must differentiate clearly between hard earned money and collected money.
"The country will not run properly if democracy and rule of law do not go hand in hand," he uttered.
Bangladesh Sammilita Peshajibi Parishad convener Dr AZM Jahid Hossain chaired the event, moderated by member secretary Quader Gani Chowdhury.
BNP vice-chairman advocate Jainul Abdin, journalist leaders Ruhul Amin Gazi and Shahidul Islam, and late Ali's son Khandkar Riaz Hossain, among others, attended the event.
Meanwhile, Mr Khashru said the proposed budget was for business oligarchs.
"The budget is for a handful of oligarchs. It's for facilitating their businesses… The oligarchs will cut money from pockets of all levels of people. They (oligarchs) are not only controlling business policies, but also the entire country."
He made the comments in a statement issued to the media by the media cell of the nationalist party.
Mr Khashru said this unelected government had no right to give any budget, which was prepared based on the country's resources.
But he questioned the current resources of Bangladesh, saying that banks were being depleted and a big chunk of the budget was going for paying debts.
The forex-reserve situation is not healthy and state coffers have been depleted through corruption, stealing and siphoning off money abroad and the capital market destroyed, according to the BNP leader.
Mr Khashru, who was also a commerce minister of the BNP-led government, further said that this budget would not pay dividends to the general public.
Instead, power, water and gas tariffs and taxes would be increased, he said emphatically.
"So, this increased amount will come from public pockets. Whatever they (government) do, they will take (money) from ordinary people (through increasing tariffs of utility services and more taxes)."
About the economic rebound, Mr Khashru said, "There must be an elected government for a turnaround from the present situation. There must be equal opportunities in an open market policy and a level-playing field.

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