A Jatiya Party lawmaker today came down heavily on Finance Minister AMA Muhith in the parliament for “protecting and giving shelter” to bank and share market looters.

Taking part in the general discussion on the proposed budget for fiscal 2018-19, Jatiya Party MP Pir Fazlur Rahman also lambasted the senior minister for not making public the names of those involved in bank scams and for not mentioning anything about formation of a banking commission in the budget as promised.

“Will the prime minister [Sheikh Hasina] alone take Bangladesh forward? And will the finance minister give shelter to those involved in bank looting and share market scam?”

The JP lawmaker raised question why the finance minister is not making public the names of those involved in bank and capital market scams.

“What is the shame behind disclosing names and taking legal actions against those involved in bank scams?” he asked.

MP Fazlur also said it is very unfortunate for the nation that certificate cases were filed against farmers for taking loans while the finance minister even failed to disclose names of bank looters.

He also sharply criticised Muhith for allocating money for banks in the proposed budget in the name of equity re-investment.

Pointing to Muhith’s comment before placing of budget that the government may form a banking commission for reforming the banking sector, Fazlur said Muhith did not mention anything about it in the budget.

"The huge amount of budget will not be able to ensure a balanced development in the country if the government fails to stop corruption and ensure good governance," he added.

Taking part in the budget discussions, both treasury and opposition bench MPs demanded the government to give necessary allocation in the budget to enroll more educational institutions under monthly payment order (MPO).