Khosru slams proposed budget as 'flawed continuation'

BNP Standing Committee Member Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury today termed the proposed national budget as a continuation of the previous government's flawed fiscal approach, lacking fundamental changes in principles.

In an immediate reaction ahead of the BNP's official budget press conference -- scheduled for June 4 at the party's Gulshan office -- Khosru said, "This is an interim government's budget, so expectations are naturally limited. But even within that scope, the core problems remain unaddressed."

He said the size of the budget does not reflect the country's actual revenue-generating capacity.

"The entire revenue is being used to cover operational expenses, meaning the development budget is being funded through both domestic and foreign loans," he said.

Khosru warned that such borrowing would lead to serious economic consequences, including increased debt burden, higher interest payments, and reduced private sector access to loans.

"When the government borrows excessively from banks, private investment declines, employment suffers, and income generation slows," he added.

Calling for a shift towards a revenue-based budgeting approach, Khosru argued that reliance on unrealistic revenue projections and loans would only worsen the economic situation.

"In essence, we've seen no qualitative shift in the budget -- only numerical changes. The structural flaws remain," he said.

Referring to current external debt servicing pressures, he said, "Given our obligations of around $3.5 billion, we should have opted for a smaller and more realistic budget.

He added that the proposed budget offers little scope for economic recovery and would create significant challenges for any future elected government.