The proposed national budget for 2026-27 has drawn sharp criticism from left-leaning political parties, with the Communist Party of Bangladesh (CPB) calling it a budget serving the interests of the “looter capitalist class” and “difficult to implement”.
CPB President Kazi Sajjad Zahir Chandan said that such a large budget is not applicable for Bangladesh. “A deficit of nearly one and a half lakh crore taka is being shown. This money will be collected from ordinary people through taxes,” he said.
He claimed prices in Bangladesh never go down despite the budget’s assurance of lower essential commodity prices, and that importers have again been given benefits through the fluctuating exchange rate.
Chandan also questioned the lack of clarity on minimum wages for workers, farmers’ cooperatives, cold storage facilities, and paddy price determination. “Millions are unemployed; how that unemployment will be eliminated has not been mentioned,” he said.
Revolutionary Workers Party
Revolutionary Workers Party General Secretary Saiful Haque said the budget shows a “half-hearted effort” to meet public expectations, but the pressure of the massive deficit will ultimately fall on ordinary people.
He noted that while the budget aims to revive closed factories and create new industries, it lacks promising proposals to control the market of essential goods. He also criticised the continuation of the black money whitening scheme, saying it will encourage economic misappropriation.
BSD
Bangladesh Samajtantrik Dal (BSD) General Secretary Bazlur Rashid Firoz said the budget has “optimism but no lessons from experience”. He pointed out that resources will be generated through indirect taxes on ordinary people rather than direct taxes on the wealthy.
He criticised the lack of review on why revenue targets were missed, why loan defaulters’ money could not be recovered, and why inflation could not be controlled. “The income of ordinary people is not increasing, yet per capita income and GDP growth figures have been presented, which will not be credible,” he said.
Jatiya Party
Jatiya Party Secretary General Barrister Shamim Haider Patwary called the budget “not implementable”, claiming the targets set will never be achieved. He warned that both the development budget and revenue budget would depend on loans, putting pressure on the private sector and causing currency contraction.
JSD
The National Socialist Party (JSD) said the budget fails to reflect any direction for addressing income inequality. In a joint statement, party leaders said while tax benefits for culture, technology, and healthcare are positive, the benefits must reach young entrepreneurs and innovators rather than remaining limited to large corporate groups.
