Information Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud came down heavily on the BNP leaders for terming the proposed national budget ‘a hoax and a cruel burden’, saying that their comments are likened to crazy delirium as they nurture malicious attitudes.

“BNP leaders’ comments are similar to crazy delirium as they nurture malicious attitudes against the development and prosperity of Bangladesh under the leadership of Awami League government. They are also fearful of their political future,” he said.

The minister came up with the remarks while replying to a query at a press briefing before holding a meeting of Bangladesh Journalist Welfare Trust at the meeting room of his ministry at secretariat.

He said BNP didn’t praise any national budget in the last 11 years. “But, the proposed budget for fiscal 2020-21 would be implemented defying their language of criticisms. And, the Awami League government, led by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, have been implementing budgets in the last 11 years proving the critics wrong,” he added.

Information Secretary Kamrun Nahar was present in the meeting.

Hasan said not only BNP, there are also some organizations and some selected experts in the country who always give their opinions on the budget. “They didn’t appreciate the proposed budgets in the last 11 years. Every time, they said that this budget is ambitious and not implementable,” he added.

But, he said, about 93 to 97 percent of the budgets were implemented in the last 11 years. “Though their criticisms were proved bogus, they followed the same trend of their criticism,” said Hasan, also Awami League joint general secretary.

The minister said the country has moved forward. “Poverty has declined from 42 percent to 20 percent. Per capita income increased about three and a half times.

The size of GDP has increased about three times. And Bangladesh graduated to a middle-income country from the lower-income one under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina,” he added.

Replying to another query on mobile companies as they are cutting extra amount on refilled balance, Hasan said it is injustice to cut extra amount before passing the proposed budget. “This is illegal and not proper if any mobile phone company cut extra money before passing the proposed budget,” he added.

About the meeting, Hasan said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, on humanitarian ground, has decided to provide special assistance to those journalists who have fallen in crisis due to coronavirus pandemic.

Terming the journalists as the front fighter during the ongoing epidemic, Hasan said, “Journalists, who have recently become jobless, remained out of jobs and are not getting their wages for long, would come under the purview of special assistance with each getting Taka 10,000.”

The minister said, “The special assistance would be given as a crisis-time aid to 1,500 journalists irrespective of difference of thoughts and opinions who have fallen in financial crisis due to coronavirus pandemic in the first phase. The other assistance would be given in phases. The journalist leaders and the unions decided the lists of journalists who will get the assistance.”

Hasan said the journalists across the country are working fearlessly and they are the front fighters during the coronavirus epidemic. “I would like to extend my thanks and congratulations to all journalists who are working in this situation,” he added.

He said many journalists have already been affected by coronavirus and some of them died.

The AL joint general secretary prayed for the eternal peace of the journalists who died of COVID-19 and coronavirus-like symptoms, and sought early recovery of those infected with coronavirus.

Press Institute of Bangladesh Director General and also member secretary of the trust Zafar Wazed, Principal Information Officer Surath Kumar Sarker, Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalists (BFUJ) president Molla Jalal, Dhaka Union of Journalists (DUJ) president Quddus Affrad and general secretary Sajjad Alam Khan Tapu, among others, were also present at the meeting.