Anu Muhammad, a former professor of the Department of Economics at Jahangirnagar University (JU), said this year's budget stands on two legs. Trump is offering one leg and IMF offers the other.
Due to IMF influence VAT exemption for local industries has been reduced. Trump tariff policy is undermining the budget on the other. This budget was an attempt to please Trump.
He made these remarks while speaking as chief guest in a discussion titled 'Budget: One and a half decades of experience and the course of the economy' organized by the Democratic Rights Committee at Maulana Akram Khan Hall of the National Press Club on Saturday.
Anu Muhammad said the budget talks about increasing VAT. But we have to collect the compensation from the American company. No government has tried to collect compensation for gas explosions in Magurchhara and Tengratila. Collecting this compensation is the responsibility of the interim government.
He further said, leaving Chittagong Port to DP World was Sheikh Hasina's project. Why does Dr. Yunus want to continue with I, he wondered.
Democratic Rights Committee member Anu Muhammad said, the desire for change expressed in the mass uprising is not supposed to be initiated in the current government's budget. Wealth is being concentrated in the hands of the few. This trend has also been seen in this budget.
He further said, we do not want the image of fraud and opacity that has been portrayed in this budget to continue. Its shortcomings must be eliminated before the budget is approved on June 22. Minimum initiatives must be taken to create national capacity in the budget.
Dr. Golam Rasul, Professor and Chair, Department of Economics of IUBAT University, said in the meeting, that there is nothing in this budget to create employment in the true sense. Inequality in the agricultural sector is increasing day by day.
He further said we are undervaluing agriculture in various ways. This time the per capita budget in the health sector has increased by Tk 22.
Regarding Trump's retaliatory tariffs, Anu Muhammad said, "The government is pretending not to understand. This will put us in great danger."
Other speakers in the meeting included Jahangirnagar University Economics Department Professor Dr. Maha Mirza, physician Dr. Harun Or Rashid, writer-researcher Engineer Kallol Mostafa and Mahtab Uddin Ahmed.
