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Muhith thanks CG for return to democracy

Supplementary budget passed

Staff Correspondent
Finance Minister AMA Muhith yesterday said the immediate past caretaker government should be thanked for returning democracy to the country instead of letting the country fall into the grip of a martial law following the expiry of its tenure.
He made the comment in parliament during his supplementary budget speech.
The parliament yesterday passed a supplementary budget ofTk 4,263 crore for the current fiscal year. The highest
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expenditure in the supplementary budget went for agriculture, to the rime ofTk 1,391 crore.
The finance minister said many lawmakers raised allegations against him for not incorporating in his main budget speech 'enough criticism' of the 'misrule' by the last four-party alliance government and the immediate past caretaker government.
In reply to the allegation he said many moves of the caretaker government were bad, but it also did some good.
The caretaker government's bad deeds include attempts to implement the 'minus two formula', attempts to establish a king's party, and allowing corruption in the name of curbing the vice, among others, the minister said. However, the jnemteFi ■of the government amended their ways later, and
returned to the right course, Muhith added.
"The caretaker government prepared a correct voter list, using which we have returned to democracy. And for that the people should remain grateful to them, an environment of free speech is prevailing in the country now." hesaid.
The situation had gotten to such an extreme that the country could have plunged into a martial law, but the nation was able to avert that catastrophe, the finance minister said.
"The caretaker government chalked out an ambitious budget for the current fiscal year. And we reaped its benefits. We could spend according to our priorities, because the budget was ambitious," Muhith added.
The finance minister said the original size of the current fiscal year's budget was Tk
99,962 crore, but it was later reduced to Tk 94,140 crore in the revised budget, saving Tk 5,822 crore. However, some ministries spent more than the allocations, and according to the convention, the extra spending needed to be approved by the parliament through the supplementary budget, he explained.
Muhith said the additional expenditure was given for agriculture, social safety nets, and for the government stimulus package for businesses in the face of the global economic recession.
The ministries that incurred additional expenditure include housing and public works ministry with an extra spending ofTk 375 crore, planning ministry with Tk 356 crore, defence ministry with Tk 357 crore, and the home ministry with Tk 311 crore.