The budget session of Parliament will begin at 5:15 pm today. Finance and Planning Minister M Saifur Rahman will present the largest ever national budget for 2006-07 fiscal of Tk 68, 500 crore in Parliament tomorrow.

The celebrated Minister will break his own record through when he places the Budget, his 12 th, which would trigger implementation of the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP). Saifur Rahman yesterday said the new budget would have highest allocation in education and priority on infrastructure development, including the power sector.

Allocations in the social sectors would be considerably increased for implementation of the 15-year PRSP that was formulated as part of the United Nations (UN) Millennium Development Goal (MDG), which is aimed at 50 per cent reduction poverty level by 2020.

Economists and development experts opined that the new budget would be an election-oriented one since it would be last budget of the present BNP-led alliance government. The ruling alliance would face new general election in January 2007.

Finance and Planning Minister Saifur Rahman said he would not increase tax but widen the tax base.

Economists and trade bodies have suggested the Finance Minister to reduce import tax from consumer items in order to bring down the price hike.

Brushing aside the suggestion, Saifur Rahman said reduction of import tax from consumer products would have negative impact on domestic agriculture and industry.

He said disclosed that he was facing the toughest ever pressure while the preparing the budget due to the liquidity crisis, which was created due to the ever-increasing price hike of petroleum products in the international market.

"Banks have become dried up for paying the import of petroleum products," he said adding that the government has not yet decided to increase fuel price although he personally feels there was no alternative to price hike.

The Business Advisory Committee (BAC), which fixes the agenda and course of the sessions of the House, will meet at 4:00pm today before the commencement of the session. The BAC will also decide the duration of the session

Deputy Speaker Akhtar Hamid Siddiki will preside over the session and the BAC meeting as Speaker Barrister Mohammad Jamiruddin Sircar is officiating as the Acting President due to the absence of President Prof Dr Iajuddin Ahmed, who is undergoing treatment in Singapore.

Acting President Barrister Mohammad Jamiruddin Sircar would give his node to the new Budget after an extra-ordinary Cabinet meeting at the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban (Parliament building).

Meanwhile, members of both the Treasury and Opposition Benches have submitted over 1,550 notices, adjournment motions and questions to the Parliament Secretariat on important issues that they would try to raise during the session, official sources said.

The issues included the attacks and arson in the DEPZ, Gaziur and Dhaka, the labour unrest in readymade garment sector and "conspiracy" to destroy stability and economy, crises of gas, water and power and price hike of essentials.

Members of the main opposition Awami League will raise the issues of the electoral reforms, including the Caretaker Government system and the Election Commission, the resignation of the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and two other Election Commissioners, government failure to arrest and try the culprits involved in the grenade attacks on party President Sheikh Hasina and British High Commissioner Anwar Chowdhury.

This was disclosed by Deputy Leader of the Opposition Abdul Hamid Advocate while talking to The New Nation yesterday.

Besides, the session may pass a number of bills.

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