New budget does not break continuity set by previous govt: BNP's Amir Khosru

Former commerce minister and BNP Standing Committee Member Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury says he does not see any "qualitative change" in the budget proposed for fiscal year 2025-26.

On Monday afternoon, he said: "We haven't shifted from the previous budgets to any significant extent... There are minor differences in the numbers... but in terms of the essence of the budget, we remain in the same place as before.

"It will not be an easy task for a future government."

Finance Advisor Salehuddin Ahmed presented a Tk 7.9 trillion for the 2025-26 fiscal year in a speech on the state-run BTV.

Asked whether the proposed budget was feasible, Amir Khosru said: "Now our foreign debt is about $3.5 billion, so you have to keep that in mind. You have to keep revenue in mind.

"Considering those aspects, if I have to comment, I would say that the size of this budget should have been smaller."

Regarding whether the proposed budget was largely a traditional one, the BNP leader said: "I don't want to use the word traditional. Largely, it hasn't been able to escape the continuity of the previous government.

“A budget should be formulated based on the revenue intake. Then you will have money flowing in the private sector, investment will be there and interest rates will come down, foreign loans will decrease, foreign loan interest will ease. We have not been able to escape that. I think the fundamental problem remains.”

The former commerce minister said, “Our expectations are limited. The reason is that the interim government has a time issue. An elected government that is to stay for an extended period will have a different approach. We need to understand these gaps."

“Therefore, first of all, I think that the size of the budget - the way the previous government kept pumping it up - has nothing to do with Bangladesh’s revenue collection.”

Amir Khosru said, “When all of the revenue collected goes into operating expenses, the development budget is financed by borrowing or lending from within the country and abroad. The problem is that, first of all, when the government borrows excessively from within the country, it damages the overall budget. When it borrows from banks, the bank interest rate increases.

“And when it borrows from outside the country, the debt burden increases. The people of the country have to repay this debt for years. Because of this, the country's development activities are stalled. Due to this, investment is hampered. As a result, employment is not generated, peoples' incomes do not increase. I think that the proposed budget should have maintained a connection between the size of the budget and revenue. I think that was not the case.”

The BNP said that a press conference would be held at the BNP Chairperson's Office in Gulshan at 11am on Wednesday to present the BNP's official reaction to the budget.