Govt wants good relations with media: Azad
Information and Cultural Affairs Minister Abul Kalam Azad yesterday said the government would do everything to narrow differences with the media.
"The government wants to maintain cordial relations with the media by removing differences, whatever they are", he said.
Speaking at a seminar on "Three years of the grand alliance government, mass media and right to information", he also expressed disappointment over media's role.
The government achieved tremendous success in the fields of health, education, food, agriculture and communication, but those were not properly highlighted in the media, he said.
Bangladesh Awami League (AL) organised the seminar at the capital's Institution of Engineers, Bangladesh (IEB).
President of the AL advisory council, Advocate Syed Rezaur Rahman, presided over the seminar while AL Publicity and Publication Secretary Nuh Alam Lenin gave the welcome address.
The minister also said the government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina believed in the free flow of information and passed the "Right to Information Act" in the first session of the Jatiya Sangsad (JS) in 2009.
Terming the present government as media-friendly, he said the government had given licences to 15 private satellite television channels and 14 community radio stations after coming to power.
Speaking on the welfare of the journalists, Azad said the government had established a welfare fund for journalists with Tk 50 lakh, which would start functioning from the current fiscal year.
The seminar was also addressed by Jute and Textile Minister Abdul Latif Siddiqui, president of Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalist (BFUJ) Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury and Editor of the Samakal Golam Sarwar.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel.
Comments