Nasiruddin Patwari, senior joint convener of the National Citizen Party (NCP), has criticised Rashed Khan, the Prime Minister’s political assistant, for tearing up a newspaper in a video message.
In a status on his verified Facebook page late on Saturday night, Patwari wrote: “What message does the sight of the Prime Minister’s political assistant tearing up a newspaper send us?”
Patwari said everyone has the right to protest a newspaper report they dislike. If a report is wrong, he said, rebut it with facts and evidence, send a rejoinder, and go to court if necessary.
“But the sight of the Prime Minister’s political assistant Rashed Khan coming on Facebook Live and tearing up a copy of the daily Amar Desh is in no way an example of responsible political conduct.”
Criticising Khan further, he said: “There can be differences with a newspaper, disputes with an editor, even strong objections to a report. But we expect more restraint, more measured conduct and the practice of democratic values from those responsible for running the state.”
“It must be remembered that the media are not the government’s adversary, and nor is the government above the media. Just as there is a right to criticise the media, there must also be the capacity to tolerate criticism of the government,” the NCP leader added.
Patwari said the strength of the state lies not in tearing up newspapers but in its ability to answer criticism published in them with facts, reason and truth.
“We wanted a Bangladesh where criticising the powerful would not be a crime, where journalists’ freedom would not be curtailed, and where people in state office would set an example of democratic culture in their conduct. I think the Prime Minister’s Office needs to make its position clear on this conduct by the Prime Minister’s political assistant. In a democracy, let accountability, not the arrogance of power, be the foundation of political culture.”
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report