Conservative, uninspiring budget: Islami Andolan Bangladesh

Terming the proposed national budget for FY 2025-26 as "conservative and uninspiring," Islami Andolan Bangladesh has expressed disappointment over what it called a continuation of traditional budgetary trends.

In an immediate reaction to the budget proposal today (2 June), the party's Joint Secretary General, Maulana Gazi Ataur Rahman said, "The proposed budget appears to be conventional as it continues past trends — such as allowing the whitening of black money, proposing increased benefits for government officials and employees, and prioritising the communication and energy sectors over education and social development."

He added that the nation had expected a more thoughtful and transformative budget from a government formed through a mass uprising, but this budget has failed to meet those expectations.

Ataur Rahman further said, "The size, revenue targets, ADP allocation, and GDP projections have all been scaled back, making the budget appear conservative and conventional. Given the shattered state of the economy and past performance in revenue collection and ADP implementation, such a cautious budget was expected."

He, however, appreciated the government for not following in the footsteps of "opportunistic authoritarian regime" by proposing an overly ambitious budget. "Avoiding unrealistic ambitions is a responsible step, and we acknowledge that."

The Islami Andolan leader also condemned the provision to legalise black money, calling it an encouragement of corruption. "It's unfortunate from this government. There is no concrete proposal to recover laundered money either.

"Achieving the announced inflation control target will be challenging. Overall, this budget will slow down the economy and offers nothing to be optimistic about in terms of alleviating public hardship," he said.

Earlier in the afternoon, Finance Adviser Salehuddin Ahmed unveiled the national budget of Tk7,89,999 for FY26 via a pre-recorded speech telecast.