STAFF CORRESPONDENT

The BNP yesterday said it had expected the interim government to hold talks with parties involved in the July uprising to build a minimal national consensus before announcing the national budget.

The party also described the proposed budget for the fiscal 2025-26 as “unilateral, traditional, and non-participatory”, adding that it lacks concrete strategies to address persistent economic challenges, such as rising inflation and worsening poverty.

The BNP has laid out a 180-day action plan focused on education, healthcare, women’s rights, rural development, and honouring martyrs if voted to power.

“If the interim government had wanted, it could have sought opinions from people of various classes and professions. Experts, civil society members, businesspeople, and youth representatives could also have participated. In that case, the budget would have symbolised a unified economic perspective,” BNP Standing Committee member Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury told a press conference on the party’s budget reaction held at the BNP chairperson’s office in Gulshan.

“The budget could have reflected the voices of various sections of society, but that opportunity has been missed.”

The BNP leader said that if there had been

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