Proposed budget is anti-people and plundering: Jamaat-e-Islami

Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami has held a protest procession and rally in the capital to protest against the proposed national budget, calling it 'anti-people and plundering'.

The rally was held at the north gate of Baitul Mukarram National Mosque in the capital on Thursday (June 11) evening, at the initiative of the party's Dhaka Metropolitan South unit.

Speaking as the chief guest at the rally, Jamaat-e-Islami's Assistant Secretary General HM Hamidur Rahman Azad said that although the size of the budget is large, it is largely deficit and debt-dependent. It does not clearly reflect people-oriented reforms or economic transformation. He alleged that, like in the past, ambitious targets have been set for revenue collection, but there is no realistic roadmap in the budget to achieve it.

Hamidur Rahman Azad also said that although the rich will get comparatively more benefits in this budget, the tax burden on the middle class and low-income people will increase further. About 70 percent of the budget will be spent on operating expenses, salaries and interest payments, which has created a major imbalance compared to development expenses. He also commented that there is a lack of priority for education and skill development, which are essential for building a developed nation, and a lack of target-based planning for the real poor in the social security sector. According to him, even if the allocation to the social security sector is increased, it is basically just a strategy to gain political popularity.

Separate protest rallies and processions were also held in the capital's North Badda area on the initiative of the Dhaka Metropolitan North unit of Jamaat-e-Islami today.

Jamaat-e-Islami will hold a press conference at 11:30 am tomorrow to give a detailed reaction to the proposed budget. The press conference will be held at the party's central office in the capital's Moghbazar, said Ehsanul Mahbub Zubair, head of the central media and publicity department of Jamaat.