Dhaka: Terming deceitful and unimplementable the proposed budget for fiscal year 2017-18, Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) on Sunday said the government has imposed huge tax load on people to collect money for mega projects so that it can use those as their next election campaign cards.

"We've got simultaneously astonished and aggrieved by analysing the budget. As per our previous experience, we can say this budget is not implementable. Only dreams and imaginations are the basis of the budget," said BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir.

He said huge money is required as the government has an undeclared aim to implement its mega projects within fiscal year 2017-18. "An arithmetic budget has been placed by imposing a tax burden on people to collect money for those projects. They'll use the projects as their electioneering weapons before the next polls."

Fakhrul came up with the comments while speaking at a press conference at BNP chairperson's Gulshan office. The press meet was arranged to present the party's formal reaction to the proposed budget unveiled before the nation 10 days back.

On June 1, Finance Minister AMA Muhith unveiled a Tk 400,226 crore ambitious budget for the next fiscal year (2017-18) with a growth target of 7.4 percent, expecting to open up a new horizon for Bangladesh through some initiatives ahead of the next general election.

Fakhrul said the budget was placed in a parliament which has no public representation and accountability. "This budget of deprivation is not acceptable to people as the government has no accountability to people. This budget is formulated to deceive and fool people."

The 15 percent Value Added Tax (VAT) proposed in the budget is the highest among South and South-East Asian countries, he said, calling upon the government to decrease VAT ceiling on different essential commodities from 15 percent to a tolerable level.

The BNP leader said if the VAT ceiling is not reduced the living cost will go up with the raise in essential prices. "It'll also increase inflation and inflict awful sufferings on middle and lower-income people."

He also urged the government to revoke its decision to impose excise duty on bank accounts. "We demand a total reform of the country's banking system."

The BNP leader also demanded the government cancel its plan to impose 10 percent import duty on solar panels.

Referring to the slogan, 'Bangladesh on Development Highway: The Time is Ours', the Finance Minister used in his budget speech, Fakhrul said, "This development highway is only filled with potholes. There's a chance of accident at every step while moving on it."

Fakhrul questioned the justification of the jumbo size of the budget while the overall budget deficit has been set at Tk 112,275 crore. "The big-size budget does not necessarily mean a better budget. This big-size budget is nothing, but trickery."

He observed that some proposals made in the budget will put the country's economy into huge risk. "The budget has failed to contain the country's economic and political reality."

The BNP leader said some important sectors like agriculture and human resource have been neglected in the budget while eye-catching mega projects have been given priority. "We think the Finance Minister did not give importance to public welfare-oriented targets which has made us disappointed."

Fakhrul said the government policymakers showed an inflated GDP growth as they are suffering from one kind of 'complacency disease'.

BNP standing committee members Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain, DR Abdul Moyeen Khan, Nazrul Islam Khan and Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury also spoke at the programme.