SANGSAD BHABAN, June 23, 2019 (BSS) – Lawmakers today said the proposed budget for 2019-20 fiscal has judicially addressed all the sectors and the mega budget would fulfill Bangabandhu’s dream through expediting transformation of villages into towns within the next couple of years.
Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal on June 13 in the Jatiya Sangsad unveiled a Taka 5,23,190 crore national budget for 2019-20 fiscal setting the GDP growth target at 8.2 percent and delineating a set of programmes to transform the country into a role model of modern and welfare state by 2041.
Taking part in the general discussion on the national budget in the Jatiya Sangsad, the lawmakers mostly concentrated on ruling Bangladesh Awami League’s 70th founding anniversary today in the House rather than on the fiscal plan.
They said the proposed budget would pave the way to turn the country to a prosperous one through developing its various sector and expedite transformation of the rural dominated country into a urban Bangladesh.
Participating in the general discussion on budget, senior Awami League leader and former minister Tofail Ahmed said Bangabandhu struggled for achieving the goals of independence and economic freedom of the people. He[Bangabandhu] had achieved the independence but the country is struggling for economic freedom under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, he said.
Now, we are struggling for economic freedom under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, said the senior party leader, saying that ‘Bangladesh now becomes a role model of the development and the incumbent Prime Minister has taken the country into a different height.”
Describing the proposed budget as ‘wonderful’, Tofail said the budget is a unique one, but the
document has some inconsistencies which would be removed.
Reiterating the development activities of the country, former minister Amir Hossen Amu said “the people of the country did not get anything from any regimes except the governments led by the Awami League, adding that but the other alternative political parties could not able to achieve anything and people did not get anything from those parties.”
The country now becomes a role model under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, he said.
Terming the budget as time-befitting, Sheikh Fazlul Karim Selim said “Under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, we are expecting that the country would be a prosperous and developed one dreamt by Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.”
Criticizing the role of Ziaur Rahman and his family after the independence, Selim said Ziaur Rahman and his family member —Begum Khaleda Zia and Tarique Rahman, had damaged the country and took it to 50 years back.
Terming the proposed budget as time-befitting, State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral
Resources Nasrul Hamid said the proposed budget has allocated Taka 29,000 crore for the power sector, saying that the budgetary outlay would bring 100 per cent electrification throughout the country by December.
“With the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Bangladesh has emerged as an excellent
country across the world in the last three decades for development in various sector including women empowerment, education, child mortality and communication, said State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shahriar Alam, adding that the development has been unfolded due to the implementation of the budget.
Talking on the budget, Gonoforum lawmaker Sultan Mohammed Mansur Ahmed o fMaulvibazar-2 said the proposed budget has a vision, but an amount of Taka 65,000 crore now gripped by the loan defaulters would make the implementation of the proposed budget difficult.
Treasury bench member Abul Hasan Mahmud Ali,Emad Uddin Pramanik, Afsarul Amin, Abdus Salam Murshedy, AKM Rahmatullah, Adiba Anjum Mita, Abdullah Al Islam Jakob, Nurunnabi Chowdhury, Nazrul Islam Babu, Morshed Alam, Kazi Nabil Ahmed, Joaherul Islam, Mohammad Iqbal Hossain, Tahmina Begum, Zakia Tabassum and Jatiya Party lawmaker Rawshanara Mannan, Sayed Abu Hossain Babla, took part in the discussion.
Earlier, they paid their cordial tribute to the memory of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, four national leaders, martyred freedom fighters and also those who made their utmost sacrifices during the War of Liberation and all subsequent democratic movements in the country.