Bangladesh's Socialist Party (BASD) has criticized the proposed national budget for FY2026-27, arguing that despite its ambitious promises, it relies on the same fiscal approach that has failed to address the country's structural economic challenges.

In a statement issued on Thursday following the presentation of the budget in parliament, BASD General Secretary Comrade Bazlur Rashid Firoz said the record Tk 9.38 trillion budget offered "hope but no lessons from experience."

While acknowledging the government's optimistic vision, Firoz said the financing strategy remained largely unchanged, relying heavily on indirect taxes borne by ordinary citizens rather than increasing direct taxation on the wealthy.

"The budget contains promises and projections, but its financial foundation follows the same old path," he said.

The socialist leader pointed to the projected budget deficit of Tk 243,000 crore, which the government plans to finance through Tk 109,850 crore in foreign borrowing, Tk 112,000 crore in bank borrowing and Tk 15,000 crore from national savings certificates.

He also highlighted the growing burden of debt servicing, noting that interest payments alone are expected to reach Tk 127,000 crore in the coming fiscal year, making it the single largest expenditure item in the budget.

Firoz questioned why the government had not addressed key shortcomings of the previous fiscal year, including missed revenue collection targets, failure to recover defaulted loans, weaknesses in the banking sector, persistent inflation above desired levels and the inability to break market syndicates that contribute to rising consumer prices.

He also criticized the government's economic narrative, arguing that official claims of rising per-capita income and economic growth were disconnected from the realities faced by workers, farmers and low-income households whose earnings have not kept pace with rising living costs.

Calling for a detailed parliamentary review of the budget, Firoz urged lawmakers to scrutinize allocations for agriculture, education, healthcare and other public welfare sectors to address what he described as significant weaknesses in the government's spending plan.

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