‘A budget like a scam, no nutritional value: Nahid Islam

Nahid Islam has strongly criticized the proposed national budget for the 2026-27 fiscal year. He called the budget “like a scam,” saying that while it may be attractive to look at, it has not provided any effective direction to solve the country’s fundamental economic problems.

In an immediate reaction after the budget was presented on Thursday, he said that although the budget talks about economic democratization, no clear plan has been presented regarding banking sector reforms, measures against defaulters, prevention of money laundering, or increasing domestic revenue.

According to him, this budget is not in line with reality and it will fail to bring about the desired changes in the country’s economy. Rather, he expressed fears that the pressure of excessive debt and inflation may increase further.

Nahid Islam said that the prerequisite for economic reforms is political reform. But the current government has not been able to show any significant progress in this regard. As a result, the possibility of permanent positive changes in the economic sector has also been limited.

Expressing concern about the banking sector, he alleged that people's trust in the financial sector is decreasing due to political influence and partisanship. This is creating uncertainty among depositors and investors, which is risky for the overall economy.

He further said that effective reforms in the judiciary and anti-corruption system are necessary to ensure transparency and accountability in budget implementation. Otherwise, a large-scale budget may increase the risk of corruption and its benefits will not reach the common people.

Finally, he claimed that if good governance, transparency and accountability are not ensured, the proposed budget will not be able to play the expected role in improving the living standards of the common people of the country.