Scope of whitening laundered money sets bad example, say opposition leaders

The opposition leaders at the parliament have criticised the scope of whitening the laundered money and called for ensuring accountability to discourage corruption.

Referring to the finance minister's budget proposal, Jatiya Party lawmaker Md Rustum Ali Faraji said, "The way he (finance minister) promised to bring back the laundered money is not a good example for us. It will encourage corruption. That would be a bad example."

Participating in the general discussion on the proposed budget for FY23 in the 18th session of the 11th Jatiya Sangsad, Md Rustum Ali Faraji yesterday demanded to increase the allocation in various sectors including health sector.

He also made some proposals to increase the revenue collected by the government, among which expanding the tax network, reforming the tax system, stopping the culture of defaulting loans, collecting money from debtors, increasing the flow of remittances and training the expatriate workers were most important.

He also said the Anti-Corruption Commission needs to be strengthened to stop irregularities and corruption. Besides, a new law regarding ACC should be formulated and implemented properly and accountability should be ensured in all cases.

Meanwhile, BNP lawmaker Gulam Mohammad Siraj strongly criticised the opportunity to bring the laundered money back into the country by paying 7% tax, saying that this will send a wrong message to honest taxpayers who pay 25% tax.

"This is a discriminatory policy which goes against the constitution," said Gulam Mohammad Siraj.

"The budget proposed by the finance minister is not reassuring. The world economy has been hit hard which is also leading Bangladesh to a difficult situation. The government needs to take precautionary measures to deal with it," he added.

Biman Bangladesh posts Tk279 crore profit

The Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation – which remained closed for a long time due to the pandemic – has posted around Tk7 crore profit in 11 months since its reopening in July 2021, said State Minister for Civil Aviation and Tourism Mahbub Ali in parliament yesterday.

During the same period, the Biman Bangladesh Airlines has earned a net profit of Tk279 crore, said the state minister for Civil Aviation while participating in the general discussion on the proposed budget for FY23.

Mahbub Ali said, "During this difficult time, the airlines of every country across the world suffered the most. Under the leadership of our prime minister, we have run our airlines even in those difficult times."

He said the prime minister gave an incentive of Tk1000 crore for the Biman Bangladesh, out of which Tk870 crore was used.

"Last month we repaid Tk870 crore along with interest to the bank with our own earnings. Even after repaying that, the airlines made a net profit of Tk279 crore," said Mahbub Ali.

Padma Bridge rail line to be completed by March 2023

On rail link construction through Padma Multipurpose Bridge, Railway Minister Md Nurul Islam Sujan said there is about 60% progress in the Dhaka-Mawa portion of the rai line while it is 80% in the Mawa-Bhanga section.

"We aim to complete the rail line construction by 26 March 2023."

The minister further said construction of rail lines between Khulna to Mongla is expected to be completed by this year, Dohazari to Cox's Bazar by June next year, and the second rail bridge (dedicated dual gaze) on the Jamuna River by June 2024.

Mentioning that other rail projects are also progressing well, Nurul Islam Sujan said the country will have a strong railway network soon.