The Minister of Information and Broadcasting Dr Hasan Mahmud said that BNP saying no to everything is equal to saying no to democracy.
He was speaking as the chief guest at a cheque distribution function of Bangladesh Journalist Welfare Trust at Kakrail Bangladesh Press Institute (PIB) auditorium in the capital on Tuesday.
Director General of the Press Institute Zafar Wazed, President of Federal Journalists Union Omar Farooq, General Secretary Deep Azad, President of Dhaka Journalists Union Quddus Afrad and Member of Journalists Welfare Trust Kashem Humayun spoke on the occasion.
Dr Hasan said, "BNP is constantly saying 'no' to everything. However, no one in many old democracies can give an example of the participatory process that has taken place today through the transparent procedure of forming the Election Commission, the way in which the search committee sits with political parties, civil society representatives and even those familiar with the society.”
The intellectuals of BNP and those who spoke all the time for BNP also went there and said that BNP was supposed to be named, but BNP did not. All that BNP is saying 'no' is equal to saying 'no' to democracy, he added.
"There have been ethnic clashes in many countries but petrol bombs, day-to-day blockades, hostage-taking and politically motivated killings, which BNP-Jamaat has done, it has not happened anywhere in the contemporary world," he said. A political party is doing anti-communal politics which is not being covered by the media in that way. No matter where they blow their whistles, they are widely reported in the media. However, when I go to a political meeting, there is not enough media, which is something to think about, he said. The Minister of Information and Broadcasting said that during the pandemic, Tk 6 crore has been provided through the Journalist Welfare Trust and it has not been given to any neighboring country. “We have never considered party loyalty in making this assignment. I have always said that those who speak against the government in front of the press club or write columns against us in the newspapers or go to talk shows and speak against us have been helped and will continue to be supported,” he said.
The guests distributed cheques worth Tk 2.76 cr among 124 journalists in Dhaka district as part of a program to distribute Tk 2.9 cr for 304 journalists across the country as a welfare grant from the Journalist Welfare Trust in the first phase of the 2021-22 financial year. Besides, as part of the second phase of Corona grant, cheques worth Tk 53 lakh were distributed among 530 journalists across the country.