'Does media not have the right to speak truth?'

Prime Minister’s ICT Adviser Sajeeb Wazed Joy has called out BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir for criticising Somoy TV for its report on the convictions of party Chairperson Khaleda Zia and her son Tarique Rahman.

In a post on his verified Facebook page on Friday, Sajeeb Wazed wrote, “Somoy TV's report was based on facts. But Mirza Fakhrul could not swallow it and lashed out at the media. He labelled it as propaganda.

“Mirza Fakhrul, in numerous events, claimed there is no freedom of expression in Bangladesh now. Now, is he respecting that freedom? Does the media not have the right to speak the truth that goes against BNP?

“This is not new for BNP. When in power, BNP shut down several newspapers and TV channels. Mirza Fakhrul's reaction clarifies that BNP's movement is only to bring back Khaleda-Tarique's rule. For them, democracy is just a buzzword,” he added.

Earlier at a press conference, Fakhrul said about Somoy TV, “That report on our leaders — Tarique Rahman and Begum Zia — is like back-stabbing our democratic movement against the government. As we continue our movement to restore democracy, they should abstain from airing such reports.”

While coming down hard on the TV channel, Fakhrul also admitted that “the channel is a mainstream news outlet and is accepted by people of the country as credible.”