Information and Broadcasting Minister Zahir Uddin Swapan today exchanged views with journalists after visiting the Chattogram Press Club. Photo : BSS

CHATTOGRAM, March 4, 2026 (BSS)  – Information and Broadcasting Minister Zahir Uddin Swapan today said the government is working to empower the people rather than rule over them.

“Our goal is to build a Bangladesh where the people are the sole owners of power and where they receive services through their chosen service providers,” he told a view-exchange meeting with journalists after visiting the Chattogram Press Club in the city.

“We will fulfill our responsibilities,” the minister added.

Swapan said that any institution loses its effectiveness if it becomes partisan, centered around individuals or controlled by specific families. “It is the responsibility of the media to criticize such tendencies. When an institution like a press club becomes partisan, we must understand what fascism means. Your own statements have proven this,” he said.

He alleged that many institutions across the country had been politicized under the previous government. “That is why they were punished by the people. Today, they face allegations of murder, enforced disappearance and the destruction of institutions. They have lost both the moral and political ground to participate in elections or speak on democratic principles,” he said. 

He as questioned the conscience of media representatives who had supported or justified such actions.

The minister said the government honored its commitment by not forming a single-party administration. “We are working to reflect national consensus as we know that the fate of the people of Bangladesh has not significantly changed in the past five decades. The reforms necessary in the political process were outlined in a 31-point plan announced by our leader, Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, before assuming office,” he said.

Referring to Tarique Rahman’s return to the country after 17 years on December 25, Swapan said, “Our national leader spoke not of revenge but of the future.”

The government, he said, has already begun implementing its election pledges. “The date for distributing family cards has been announced. We have launched agricultural card distribution for farmers, initiated allowances for imams and muezzins, and waived agricultural loans up to Tk 10,000. Several promised initiatives are already being implemented for the people,” he added.

The minister further alleged that the ousted Bangladesh Awami League government had politicized state institutions in an attempt to establish authoritarian rule. “They even tried to politicize the armed forces, which are a symbol of our trust and hope. But the forces ultimately proved that they cannot be partisanized,” Swapan said.

Among others present at the event were Abu Sufian, MP; President of the Jatiya Press Club and Editor of Daily Kaler Kantho Hasan Hafiz, Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalists Secretary General Quader Gani Chowdhury, Chattogram Deputy Commissioner Zahidul Islam Miah, Chattogram Metropolitan Union of Journalists President Mohammad Shahnawaz.
 
Chattogram Press Club President Zahidul Karim Kochi chaired the meeting.