DHAKA, Jan 21, 2020 (BSS) – Information Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud today
said BNP was enjoying an extra advantage in the campaign for the upcoming
mayoral polls in the capital as law did not bar their top leaders to seek
votes unlike those of the ruling Awami League.
“As per the electoral code of conduct, ministers and MPs who are enjoying
government facilities cannot take part in the election campaign. BNP remains
in an advantageous position in this regard,” he told a media briefing at his
ministry’s conference room.
Hasan said in most other parliamentary democracies including India and the
UK, ministers and lawmakers could take part in polls campaign without using
the government facilities “but, in Bangladesh, it is not possible”.
“So under current circumstances, they are in a much better position than
Awami League,” he said, rejecting BNP’s allegations about the absence of a
level playing field.
Hasan said BNP was out to make the city polls questionable as they try to
do so in other polls as well realizing “the countrymen are not with them”.
The minister briefed the media after attending a view exchange meeting
with newly elected executive committee members of Bangladesh Film Producer
Distributor Association (BFPDA).
Information Secretary Kamrun Nahar, BFPDA President Khorshed Alam and
General Secretary Shamsul Alam, among others, were present in the meeting.
Replying to a query on the long-awaited judgment in the sensational
Chattogram mass-killing case in 1988 that killed 24 people, Hasan, also joint
general secretary of Awami League, expressed his satisfaction over the
verdict.
Hasan also demanded to bring the kingpins under book who gave order from
Dhaka to attack on the mass rally of Awami League President and incumbent
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who was proceeding with a motorcade procession
to attend a grand rally at Lal Dighi Maidan of Chattogram on January 24,
1988.
The Minister also expressed his satisfaction over the verdict in a case
lodged over murder of five people in bomb attack at a rally of Communist
Party of Bangladesh (CPB) in the capital in 2001.
About the court order on granting anticipatory bail to Bangla daily
Prothom Alo editor Matiur Rahman in a case lodged over the death of student
Naimul Abrar Rahat, the minister said it is proved that the court and the law
are working independently.
While addressing the view-exchange meeting, Hasan urged the film producer
to play their role in shaping the minds especially of younger generations and
middle class family with positive and pro-active outlook. “The media has a
big influence in this regard . . . I urge you to shape particularly the young
minds to think positively for nation building,” he added.
The minister said, “Film portrays life and the society as it works as the
mirror of the society. To make a better society or a better world, film has a
tremendous role today. So, the necessity of producing good films is a much
needed demand nowadays.”
He said the government’s aim is to bring back the golden period of
country’s film industry and capture the global cinema market. “The barren
period of our film industry is over . . . A number of good and quality films
have been produced in the recent years,” he added.
Terming the film industry ‘one of the oldest media in Bangladesh’, Hasan
said the industry started its journey on April 3, 1957 at the initiative of
Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
The minister said many cinema halls across the country were closed as the
mass people stopped going to cinema halls.
“The present government under the supervision of Prime Minister Sheikh
Hasina has taken various initiatives to make the industry vibrant. Now the
barren period is over. I’ve already talked with the Bangladesh Bank authority
for offering easy and long-term loans for the cinema hall owners,” he added.
Besides, the minister said the work of forming welfare trust for the
artists of the film industry is going on.