Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader on Tuesday said that media in Bangladesh can spread lies against the government as those are ‘independent’.
“If the government has any control over the media, then how is it criticising the government and spreading lies about it daily?” the ruling party’s number two man asked, referring to a comment of BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul.
At a regular briefing, the Road Transport and Bridges Minister said the BNP was still alive after drubbing in polls and failing to launch street protests thanks to the ‘independent media’.
Also read: Bangladesh drops one notch in World Press Freedom Index
Bangladesh was ranked 152 in the 2021 World Press Freedom Index (https://rsf.org/en/bangladesh), slipping one notch.
Tackling pandemic
Quader said cash and food assistance are being provided to 36.5 million helpless, unemployed and low-income families and warned against irregularities in the distribution process.
Mentioning that the government is working tirelessly to help the people during the pandemic, Quader said that it is providing financial and food assistance to protect the unemployed.