Govt to correct legal error in appointment of BTV DG

The government has decided to amend the notification appointing Kazi Jesin as director general of Bangladesh Television after questions arose over the validity of the law cited in the order.

Officials at the public administration ministry acknowledged the notification contained a legal error and said a revised version would be issued.

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The move follows a report published in The Daily Star yesterday highlighting the mistake.

State Minister for Public Administration Abdul Bari told this newspaper that The Daily Star had “correctly pointed out the error” and that a fresh notification would be issued soon.

Jesin, a media personality, was appointed BTV DG on Thursday under the “Bangladesh Television Authority Act, 2001”. However, neither the information ministry nor the public administration ministry could confirm whether the act is in force.

BTV’s website features at least 22 documents on its rules and regulations but makes no mention of the act, which was passed by parliament during the tenure of the then Awami League government to grant autonomy to BTV, according to sources.

No gazette has been issued in the past 25 years to bring the act into effect, as required by its own provisions. This means that although parliament passed the law, it has never taken effect. Yet the appointment order cited the same act.