PM places budget for first time

Senior Correspondent: Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina started presenting the national budget in Parliament for the 2019-20 fiscal year as Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal has fallen sick during the budget presentation. It is the first budget presentation of a prime minister in the country’s history.

The Finance Minister started presenting the budget in Parliament although he had been ill for several days. After presenting the budget for some time, he felt sick.

Later, the Prime Minister stepped in, saying the minister was unable to continue the budget speech. “If the Speaker allows me, I can read out the remaining part of the budget speech,” she said.

Later, she started placing the budget on behalf of the finance minister after Speaker Dr Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury gave her the go-ahead signal.

For the first time in the history of budget in Bangladesh, the Prime minister herself started placing the budget in order to assist the Finance Minister for his illness. It is the first ever case in the history of the budget presentation.

Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal started presenting the national budget in Parliament for the 2019-20 fiscal year around 3:07pm.

The size of this year’s budget is Tk 523,190 crore which is the biggest budget in the 48-year history of the country.

risingbd/Dhaka/June 13, 2019/Reza/Rafik/AI