BNP on Wednesday described the proposed national budget for the 2025-26 fiscal year as ‘unilateral, traditional and non-participatory’ and said it fails to offer concrete strategies to address long-standing economic vulnerabilities, including soaring inflation and rising poverty.

“BNP has been cooperating with the interim government in every possible way. We expected that the interim government would formulate the budget through discussions with the political parties involved in the movement to establish a minimum level of national consensus,” BNP Standing Committee Member Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdury told a press conference. 

He said the interim government could have sought opinions from various segments of society -- experts, civil society members, business leaders and youth representatives.

“If that had happened, the budget would have symbolised a coordinated economic vision. It would have reflected the voices of different sections of the country. But that opportunity was not utilised. As a result, the budget formulation has been one-sided, non-participatory, and conventional. It lacked the reflection of new thinking,” the BNP leader said.

He said the interim government could have sought opinions from various segments of society -- experts, civil society members, business leaders and youth representatives.

“If that had happened, the budget would have symbolised a coordinated economic vision. It would have reflected the voices of different sections of the country. But that opportunity was not utilised. As a result, the budget formulation has been one-sided, non-participatory, and conventional. It lacked the reflection of new thinking,” the BNP leader said. 

In the current special circumstances, he said this dialogue was even more urgent for the interim government before finalising the budget since an elected government will come into power in the 2025-26 fiscal year. 

BNP arranged the press conference at its chairperson’s Gulshan office to give the party’s formal reaction to the proposed budget.

On Monday, Finance Adviser Salehuddin Ahmed unveiled a Tk 790,000 crore national budget for the 2025–26 fiscal year, which begins in July.

Stating that the budget should be formulated keeping in mind the standard of living of the common people, Amir Khosru said the proposed budget does not reflect the principles of a discrimination-free society for which the movement was carried out. 

He pointed out that the budget did not provide clear solutions for ongoing economic problems like high inflation, growing poverty, low private investment and fewer job opportunities. 

The BNP leader criticised the budget for focusing on unnecessary, corruption-prone projects while cutting allocations for important sectors like education, health and agriculture.