Senior leaders of the Awami League in their discussions on the proposed budget for fiscal 2011-12 on Tuesday demanded stern action against stock market manipulators to restore trust of the electorates in the government.
They said the government should take lessons from the experiences of the past stock plunge and its consequences.
The party's advisory council member Amir Hossain Amu said all achievements of the government would be blurred if the stock market manipulators were not brought to book.
About the proposed budget, Amu said it would be a tough task for the government to implement such a huge budget.
Another member on AL advisory council, Abdul Jail, said, 'There had been a similar stock plunge and we faced its consequences.' He asked the government to take stern action against the manipulators of stock market, 'whoever they are and however powerful they may be.'
'When the prime minister is trying to ensure job for one from each family, unemployed people invested their small savings in the stock market. The people who have ruined them must be punished so that they do not dare to play with stock market in future,' he said.
Jalil said a huge revenue target has been proposed in the budget which would be tough to achieve. 'If the target could not be achieved, it would increase borrowing from banks and that would leave an adverse impact on
availability of loans for private sector. It would also cause further inflation which might not remain bellow eight per cent,' he warned.
Lawmaker Asaduzzman Noor opposed the move to allow investment of black money in the stock market. 'It is not right that the taxpayers and those who amassed illegal wealth would be treated equally,' he said.
Noor called for withdrawing subsidy on petrol and called for use of compressed natural gas in luxury cars used by the richer section of
the people. He also called for increasing tax on tobacco to discourage younger generation from smoking.
The state minister for land, Mustafizur Rahman Fizar, said coal should be extracted from Phulbari mine through open-pit method.
He said open-pit mining would ensure fuel for generation of 5,000 megawatts of power for 40 years. 'We do not have powerful representatives in northern districts. We have to convince the people that the open-pit option would benefit them.'
Fizar told the prime minister that nothing would happen if open-pit mining was used for coal extraction. 'You have signed deals with
ConocoPhillips, nothing has happened yet,' he said.
He took a swipe at the family of the opposition leader Khaleda Zia branding them a 'corrupt family.'
'The opposition leader's father Iskandar Majumder had taken lease
of Mata Sagar in Dinajpur through corruption. Later it was sold out to Fazlur Rahman Patal. The lease will be cancelled soon,' he
said.
'This family never abides by laws. Her [Khaleda] husband had usurped state power and eer father grabbed 45 acres of land. Iskandar had applied to Ziaur Rahman in 1977 but Mata Sagar was leased out to him in 1976. After his death, it was sold out to Fazlur Rahman Patal,' said Fizar.
He also criticised the statements of opposition leaders about law and order. 'What went wrong with law and order. Has MK Anwar or Zainul Abdin Farroque been killed? Has any of your rallies come under bomb attack? Our Ahsanullah Master and SAMS Kibria have been killed,' he said.
State minster for health Mujibur Rahman Fakir also termed the BNP
chief and her party corrupt. He said owner of Acme Laboratories was made state minister by the BNP government for money.
Lawmaker AKM Mozammel Huq said all educational institutions should be brought under monthly pay order.
Source : New Age
