Are we learning?
Thanks to the Daily Telegraph, British MPs are now beginning to learn the true definition of “taxpayers' money”.
Unfortunately, journalism in our country works slight differently. When there is an AL government, all the pro-AL newspapers go on an overdrive to inform the public about all the corruption that took place under the previous government (which is always the BNP as our country suffers from Bi-party Affective Disorder). And when the BNP forms the government, all the pro-BNP newspapers go on an overdrive to inform the public about all the unholy things that went on under the previous AL government.
This kind of journalism, no matter how well-intentioned, appears to be politically motivated. And the problem is not only with what gets published.
We are baffled by some of the things that don't get published at crucial times. There are many examples when one newspaper decides to put a particular story on its front-page while its rivals try to hide it in the back pages! Reading some of those half-hearted reports, it feels as though the newspaper is desperately trying to hide the story instead of revealing it. What a shame!
I end this letter with a small request to our newspapers: can we please have some reports on how many Umrah Khaleda Zia and Sheikh Hasina have performed since 1991 (particularly when they were prime ministers)?
How many officials/staff usually went with them on each trip and how much did each trip cost? I think the people of Bangladesh have a right to know this much. Our newspapers have always shied away from publishing any detailed reports on this because both of their beloved 'netris' are involved in it. But it is our money and we want the truth now, please.
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