Writer and political analyst Farhad Mazhar has said the nation has not adopted Dr Muhammad Yunus’s “Three Zero” theory as a national policy, nor did the July uprising happen in order to implement it.
He made the remarks on Thursday at the "Budget Dialogue 2025" organized by the Centre for Democracy and Peace Studies at the Maulana Mohammad Akram Khan Hall of the National Press Club.
Speaking on the theory, Farhad said: “In this budget, they are claiming that they will implement the Three Zero theory. But we did not join the uprising for that. What we wanted was something different.
"And we have a separate opinion on this theory. We will address that separately. It is a personal dream — and we respect that. But our question is, why is this theory in the budget proposal? It may have international acclaim, but it is not properly understood in Bangladesh; we have the right to discuss this. I am not saying this to disrespect him. But if this is included in the budget, it will ultimately be disrespectful to him.”
“This budget has not satisfied us enough,” he continued. “The spirit we wanted to see in the budget is not there.”
Questioning the logic of whitening black money after the uprising, Farhad said: “The most visible manifestation of the looting system is the whitening of black money. This must be corrected. What is the logic behind whitening black money now? There is no justification for doing so after a mass uprising.”
He added: “There is no clear mention in the budget of how we are spending on the military. That cannot be the case. On one side we have Myanmar, on the other India. If we want to survive in between, we must build a national defence system. And that requires expenses — legitimate expenses. Where will I get that money from, who will provide it? There must be transparency — where is the money being spent? Hiding such expenses in the budget is a bad sign.”
