Biggest deficit budget in history: NCP

Opposition Chief Whip Nahid Islam has sharply criticised the proposed budget for the fiscal year 2026�"27, saying, “It will be the biggest deficit budget in history. This year's budget is a lot like a slush fund, good to eat, but has no nutritional value.”

He made the remarks at Parliament House on Thursday (June 11) night while giving his immediate reaction to the proposed budget.

Nahid Islam said the budget size of Tk 938,000 crore is “high and unrealistic”, while the revenue target of Tk 695,000 crore cannot be achieved under the current administrative and tax structure. He said, "They say that this income is 695,000 crore taka, they have set a revenue target which is actually unrealistic. Because it is not possible for the government to collect this amount of revenue with this administration and tax structure."

He further said the resulting deficit of Tk 243,000 crore would widen if revenue collection falls short. "If the revenue of 6 lakh 95 thousand crore taka cannot be collected, the deficit will naturally increase a lot. What will the government have to do then It will have to borrow from banks and abroad," he said.

He added that achieving the revenue target would require a growth rate of at least 42 per cent, while the highest recorded growth in the country's history is 27.3 per cent. "Even if it is possible to record that highest in the next fiscal year, there will still be a deficit of 70 thousand crore taka compared to the target," he said, questioning how the shortfall would be managed.

Nahid Islam said the government has presented the budget as the largest in history, but it will also become the "largest deficit budget in history", increasing dependence on borrowing. "It can be called a debt ridden budget. As a result, the government will increase more loans from banks," he said.

The Opposition Chief Whip also said total debt has reached Tk 8,12,000 crore in foreign liabilities, while domestic debt has increased "almost 16 times". He warned that increased bank borrowing would place pressure on the private sector, restricting investment, reducing access to credit, and slowing employment generation.

Nahid Islam further said that although the Finance Minister spoke of "economic democracy", the budget lacked clear direction on reforms in the banking and financial sector. He said there were no concrete measures on recovering defaulted loans or repatriating laundered money. Instead, he alleged growing "partyisation and politicisation" of the banking sector, citing Islami Bank as an example.

He also said, "A process is underway to hand over Islami Bank to S Alam again," adding that instability in the banking sector and loss of depositor confidence was re-emerging.

He warned that rising domestic and foreign debt would fuel inflation, arguing that the budget contained "attractive language" but no structural transformation of the economy. Nahid Islam added that economic reform is inseparable from political reform, stating that progress in political reform under the current government is "almost non-existent".