No journalists will be harassed unreasonably: Information Minister
He urged all to be vigilant so that none could create a distance between the government and journalists
Information and Broadcasting Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud has said no journalists will be harassed without cause.
He said this at a meeting with the leaders of journalists' organisations over the issue of seeking bank account details of journalists at his secretariat office on Tuesday.
BSS managing director Abul Kalam Azad, DBC 24/7 NEWS chairman Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury, former BFUJ president Manjurul Ahsan Bulbul, former secretary generals Abdul Jalil Bhuiyan and Omar Faruk, DUJ president Quddus Afrad and general secretary Sajjad Alam Khan Tapu were present at the meeting.
After the meeting, Dr Hasan told journalists, "The journalist leaders came to discuss the letter sent from the Bangladesh Bank seeking bank account details of the leaders of the journalists' organisations. The discussions were held in a very cordial environment."
"The government can seek info of bank accounts of anyone. But, it is a concern why the bank details were sought in the name of organisations. As the Information Minister, I will look into the matter so that no one is unreasonably harassed," he said.
"The journalists have also requested me to keep an eye so that no misunderstanding occurs between the government and journalists regarding seeking of the bank details and I also requested them to do so," Dr Hasan said.
The minister said Bangabandhu's daughter Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is journalist-friendly as she has taken many welfare schemes for the journalist community.
She formed the Journalist Welfare Trust, provided allocations for the construction of the National Press Club building, provided assistance to journalists during the Covid-19 period, and donated Tk10 crore to the Journalists Welfare Trust, he added.
The Prime Minister regularly inquires so that the journalists would not face any difficulty for any reason, Dr Hasan added.
The minister urged all to be vigilant so that none could create a distance between the government and journalists.
