Atiqur Rahman Mozahid, the head of the National Citizen Party's (NCP) shadow budget committee and a member of parliament, has criticized the proposed budget for the 2026-27 fiscal year as 'extremely ambitious and unrealistic'. He stated that the revenue collection targets are unattainable given the current economic reality.
On Thursday afternoon, Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury presented a budget of 938,000 crore BDT for the new fiscal year in the Jatiya Sangsad. The budget estimates revenue income at 695,000 crore BDT, with an additional 91,000 crore BDT to be collected from other sources. The budget deficit is projected at 243,000 crore BDT.
In a statement to the media following the Finance Minister's budget speech, NCP MP Atiqur Rahman Mozahid from Kurigram-2 constituency said, 'This is an extremely ambitious and unrealistic budget.'
The NCP MP further stated, 'Although the government mentions a deficit of nearly 250,000 crore BDT, the actual deficit could reach close to 450,000 crore BDT. This is because the proposed revenue collection target of 695,000 crore BDT is impossible to achieve given the current economic reality. I believe there could be a shortfall of over 200,000 crore BDT in revenue collection. Therefore, considering the actual figures, this budget could be considered the largest deficit budget in Bangladesh's history.'
Meanwhile, the NCP is set to hold a press conference on Friday to provide a sector-wise reaction to the budget, as announced in a statement from the party.
