Budget formulated to change the fortune of common people: PM

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman gave a strong response to the misleading comments of those who are calling the government's proposed national budget 'cheap' or 'anti-people'. He clearly stated that the BNP government has prepared this budget with the aim of changing the fate of the common people.

The Prime Minister said this at the inauguration of the 'Family Card' distribution program organized at the Victoria High School grounds in Srimangal, Moulvibazar on Wednesday (June 17). At the same time, he reiterated the government's commitment to fulfill its development targets and promises.

He expressed his anger towards those who strongly criticized the budget and said, 'This budget is the people's budget. Those who compare the budget through which we want to change the fate of the people through the allocation of money with 'cheap', in which we have allocated the highest allocation for healthcare for the common people, agricultural cards for our farmer brothers and good education for our children, they are promoting the budget as 'anti-people'. You must have noticed this.’

At this time, highlighting the positive aspects of the budget, the Prime Minister said, ‘In the budget we have presented, we have allocated money to increase the number of beds in each upazila hospital from 50 to 100 to ensure healthcare for crores of people in the country. Our goal is clear – that people in villages and upazilas should get minimum healthcare. In addition, special money has been allocated in the budget for the education and sports of school and college students.’

Tarique Rahman said, ‘Today is a very happy day for me. A few months ago, I started the election campaign from the holy soil of Sylhet. At a public meeting in Habiganj, I had promised that if BNP forms the government, I will introduce ‘family cards’ for women workers in tea gardens. Today, by the infinite mercy of Allah, I have been able to keep that promise. Today, I have handed over these cards to the women workers of the tea gardens and, God willing, within the next one year, we will deliver these cards to all the women workers of the tea gardens.’

Stressing the importance of making the women of the country self-reliant and improving the living standards of about 40 million families, the Prime Minister said, ‘In the last February 12 elections, the people of the country elected the Bangladesh Nationalist Party with trust in us. We believe that to move our beloved motherland Bangladesh forward, it is very important to make women self-reliant along with men. We have started implementing the commitment we made to deliver family cards to all families in stages to change the fate of about 40 million families in Bangladesh within a month of forming the government.’

He further said, ‘Not only have we provided family cards, but we have also provided financial assistance of Tk 0.2 million each to 50 women workers of the tea gardens for house construction. In addition, special scholarships have been given to the meritorious children of about 150 workers for their education. We have also handed over financial checks for the treatment of disabled people and this assistance is being delivered to the actual recipients through the administration. In addition, we have also ensured a monthly honorarium for religious leaders of all religions, including Imams, Muazzems, and Khatibs.'

Regarding future plans, the Prime Minister said, 'We also want to stand by the farmers of this country. Within a year from next July, we will hand over 'Farmer Cards' to 4 million farmers of the country. Basically, standing by the people and changing their fate is the main goal of BNP's politics. We want to take the country forward, and I hope that these works will continue for the next five years.'

In addition, regarding the protection of the country's industry and employment, the Prime Minister said, 'We have taken special protective measures to protect the country's industrialists and mills. To protect products made in Bangladesh, we have increased duties on similar products imported from abroad, so that local factories remain operational. And if these factories operate, our unemployed youth will get employment opportunities. We have also included these measures to protect our domestic industry in the budget.'