The Jatiya Sangsad (JS) on Tuesday passed the Taka 5.68 trillion national budget for the next fiscal year (2020-21) with a target of attaining 8.2 per cent GDP growth after tackling the impacts of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal moved the Appropriations Bill, 2020 to the House on Tuesday seeking a budgetary allocation of Taka 7.59 trillion which was passed by voice vote, reports BSS.
The finance minister earlier dubbed the proposed budget as “Economic Transition and Pathway to Progress”.
Following the proposal mooted in the House by the finance ministry for the parliamentary approval of appropriation of fund for meeting necessary development and non-development expenditures of the government, the ministers concerned placed justifications for the expenditures by their respective ministries, through 59 demands for grants.
Earlier, parliament rejected by voice vote a total of 421 cut-motions that stood in the name of opposition members on 59 demands for grants for different ministries.
A total of nine MPs from Jatiya Party and BNP submitted their cut-motions on the budget. They are– Kazi Firoze Rashid, Mujibul Huq, Fakhrul Imam, Pir Fazlur Rahman, Shamim Haider Patwari, Liaquat Hossain Khoka, Begum Rawshan Ara Mannan, Harun Ur Rashid and Rumeen Farhana.
They, however, were allowed to participate in the discussion on Law Ministry and Health Ministry.
Later, Speaker Dr Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury applied guillotine to quicken the process of passing the demands for grants for different ministries without giving the lunch break.
Opposition and independent MPs were present at the House when the Appropriations Bill was passed in parliament and they did not raise any voice against passing of the bill.
Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal on June 11 placed a Taka 5.68 trillion budget which also aims to contain inflation within 5.4 per cent for the next fiscal overcoming all challenges and impacts of the COVID-19 global pandemic.