Raushan, HM Ershad differ on budget

Opposition chief Raushan Ershad, who had so far kept her conflict with HM Ershad well under wraps, has made it public through her budget reaction.

Jatiya Party chief Ershad had dubbed the proposed budget ‘unrealistic’ but Raushon said three days later the party was yet to analyse the budget proposals.

At a news conference on Saturday Ershad had said he was giving the reaction to the budget on behalf of his wife Raushon.

But Opposition Leader Raushon rejected Ershad’s statement on Tuesday, saying he had held the news conference to give his reaction as the chief of the Jatiya Party.

Party secretary general and MP Ziauddin Bablu was present at Ershad’s press meet but was not seen in Tuesday’s event.

Raushon was accompanied by her political secretary Golam Mosih, who joined the Jatiya Party faction led by Kazi Zafar Ahmed after Ershad expelled him from the main party.

Opposition chief whip Tajul Islam was also present at Jatiya Party presidium member Raushan’s press conference.

There have been reports of conflict between Ershad and Raushon over joining the Jan 5 national elections but both have denied the reports so far.

Ershad had announced the boycott of the elections and was admitted to hospital under dramatic circumstances before the polls.

His party emerged as the opposition in parliament. Ershad was elected MP and took oath.

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Raushon, who was elected the Leader of the Opposition, maintained that she had done everything with Ershad’s consent.

Their row over nominating candidates in the Narayanganj-5 by-poll surfaced in the media recently.

Now, they have made conflicting statements over the Budget.

Raushon said on Tuesday that the Jatiya Party chairman had expressed his personal views at his press conference.

Ershad had described the 2014-15 Budget as ‘unrealistic’. “No earlier budget had achieved its target; this budget will be the same. It is ambitious and its base is weak,” he had said.

Raushon, in contrast, said: “We can dream. We want to see Bangladesh turn into a middle-income country by developing local industries and generating employment.

“For that, we must have ambition.”

On the Opposition’s reaction about Budget, Raushon said, “We have not closely analysed the Budget yet. We will discuss it in Parliament after assessing it properly.”

She evaded a direct reply when asked whether she disagreed with Ershad’s remark.

“What is the definition of an Opposition party? The opposition does not mean Parliament boycott, throwing files, and hurling abuses.

“The opposition party is a shadow government. We want to work for the people along with the government. But that does not mean that we are loyal to the government.”

Asked about her views on the country’s present situation as the Leader of the Opposition, Rauson said, “You are journalists. You know everything about what is happening. You realise it yourselves.”

Source: Bd news24