Special Correspondent: The election allocation for 24 was Tk 4800 crore. However, the allocation for the Election Commission in the announced national budget for the fiscal year 2025-26 has been set at only Tk 2956 crore. Less than half the allocation against the demand of about Tk 6 thousand crore clearly indicates that the interim government is not seriously considering the public demand for early national elections. Bangladesh Muslim League President Advocate Md. Mohsin Rashid and Secretary General Kazi Abul Khair have commented in response to the budget that the needs of NGOs have been given priority over public welfare. The leaders said in a statement that the government is planning to borrow Tk 104 lakh crore from banks to meet the deficit of Tk 2.21 lakh crore in the Tk 7.9 lakh crore budget. This will put pressure on banks, some banks will go bankrupt and the country`s economy, trade and industry will be hampered.

The target of achieving 88.4% of the expected revenue of Tk 5.64 lakh crore from direct taxes, customs and VAT is unlikely to be met. The tax burden of achieving the revenue collection target will further pressure the law-abiding taxpayers, resulting in increased unemployment, closure of industries and factories, additional burden on the judiciary and a situation of pushing a section of the people below the poverty line. The lack of allocation for small and medium entrepreneurs (SMEs), lack of innovation in creating employment opportunities, and ambiguity regarding small investors and the stock market are some of the weakest aspects of the budget.

The GDP growth rate is unlikely to meet the target of 5.5%. In a word, the leaders of the century-old traditional political party has commented that this budget is meaningless unrelated to the real needs of the people and have failed to meet expectations.