Nineteen years ago, BNP finance minister M Saifur Rahman placed a national budget of Tk 69,740 crore for fiscal year 2006-07. Three governments have since come and gone, and BNP has now returned to power through a national election.

Bangladesh can no longer afford “surreal” budgets built on inflated projections and political convenience, warned eminent economist Debapriya Bhattacharya.