BNP acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Saturday demanded resignation of Information Minister Hasanul Haq Inu for disclosing the high-profile telephone conversation between Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Opposition Leader Khaleda Zia.
“The Information Minister is guilty of the same offence for which the government arrested Amar Desh editor Mahmudur Rahman and human rights activist Adilur Rahman Khan. He (Inu) himself breached the law of his government. The conversation was circulated without the consent of the opposition leader,” he said.
Addressing a discussion titled ‘Media under attack: Country is in deep crisis’ organised by a faction of Dhaka Union of Journalists (DUJ) at National Press Club in the city, Fakhrul said the Prime Minister should also quit on the same ground.
Mentioning that the mass media and the existence of the country is at stake due to the misrule of the current regime, the BNP spokesman said though the government talks tall about democracy but their activities are anti-democratic.
“Now they (govt) are trying to hold a lopsided polls being isolated from the country’s people. Their aim is to reach 2021 by capturing power by holding a unilateral election,” Fakhrul said.
He urged the country’s people to get united and join the movement to remove this autocratic regime and protect the country’s democracy.
Fakhrul condemned the “false campaign” by some pro-government media against writer and columnist Farhad Mazhar and said, “We think the media should advocate for people from its neutral position shunning its partisan stance.”
Pointing at Farhad Mazhar, he said, “I want to clearly state that you (Farhad Mazhar) are not alone. Not only BNP but also democracy-loving people of the country are with you. We have seen that Farhad Mazhar came forward wherever media, democracy and human rights came under attack.”
Fakhrul went on: “Propaganda is on against Farhad Mazhar as he talks in favour of democracy and prosperity.”
Former adviser to caretaker government Akbar Ali Khan, former chief election commissioner Justice Abdur Rouf, poet Al Mahmud, journalist Shafique Rehman, among others, addressed the programme held with poet and DUJ president Abdul Hye Shikder in the chair.
Source: UNBConnect
