Opposition Chief Whip in the National Parliament and National Citizen Party (NCP) Convener Nahid Islam on Friday said the proposed budget would not deliver the basic economic reforms his party had expected.
He, however, said some “creative initiatives” were visible in the budget, noting that taxes had been reduced on certain products and allocations for education, health and social security had been increased.
“These are positive steps. However, I fear that this budget is not implementable,” he told journalists at the Chittagong Circuit House.
Nahid said prices of daily essentials and electricity had increased sharply in recent years.
“We have never seen such a large increase in electricity prices in such a short time,” he said.
He also announced that the 11-party alliance would hold a divisional grand rally in Chittagong on Saturday.
According to Nahid, the alliance is organising programmes across all divisions to press for reforms in line with the referendum verdict and demand measures to control the prices of essential commodities.
He said the alliance would continue raising economic issues both inside and outside parliament throughout the month.
On corruption, Nahid said the budget did not provide a clear roadmap for preventing graft.
“Big budgets create big opportunities for corruption,” he said.
Nahid alleged that lawmakers from the ruling party receive allocations for various cards, canal excavation programmes and development projects, while opposition lawmakers do not, adding that accountability and transparency were lacking.
Referring to the finance minister’s budget speech, he said it did not explain how funds would be recovered from loan defaulters or outline a clear strategy for doing so.
“S Alam and other big mafias, backed by fascism, looted public money and are now abroad, but we have not seen any statement about bringing them to justice,” he said.
Nahid also alleged there had been an attempt to return Islami Bank to S Alam.
He said the alliance was not only criticising the government but also presenting alternative proposals, adding that its shadow budget was part of that effort.
Referring to the Awami League, he said: “The Awami League is a terrorist organisation. It will be tried as a party through tribunal proceedings.”
Nahid said the party was currently banned under the law and warned that failure by the administration to take effective action would be a matter of concern.
He also alleged that media outlets carrying statements or publicity materials from the party were violating the law and said the government and administration should take action.
Speaking about waterlogging in Chittagong, Nahid said the city experiences flooding even after light rainfall and described it as one of its major problems.
He urged the Chittagong City Corporation and relevant authorities to take prompt and effective measures to address the issue.