Poet and political thinker Farhad Mazhar has strongly criticized the government’s continuation of the policy allowing the legalization of black money in the national budget for the fiscal year 2025–26. He made these remarks while speaking as the chief guest at the “Budget Dialogue 2025” event held on Thursday.
The event was organized by the Center for Democracy and Peace Studies at the Akram Khan Hall of the National Press Club in Dhaka.
In his speech, Mazhar stated, “This budget legitimizes the whitening of black money. There is no rational basis for such a policy. The government must move away from the tendency to legitimize black money.”
He further criticized the budget by saying that 35% of it is allocated just to support interest payments and bureaucratic expenses. “This budget provides legitimacy to a system of looting,” he said, adding, “It also legalizes structural laundering.”
Mazhar called on the interim government to put an end to such structural laundering, which he claimed undermines economic justice.
Commenting further, he added, “We should not expect too much from this budget. It should have been a directional, policy-guiding budget instead.”
Among others present at the event were Mohammad Nurul Islam Bulbul, Ameer of Dhaka South City (Jamaat-e-Islami), and Shahidul Islam, President of the Dhaka Union of Journalists (DUJ), along with several civil society representatives and professionals.