Questions were raised in parliament on Wednesday over the alleged withdrawal of news reports critical of ministers, with an opposition lawmaker asking whether such incidents indicate government interference in the media.
Abdul Hannan Masud, lawmaker from Noakhali-6, raised the issue during the parliamentary session, citing several recent instances in which reports were allegedly removed from media outlets and social media platforms.
In response, State Minister for Information and Broadcasting Yasser Khan Choudhury denied that the government was interfering with the media.
Hannan said Daily Waadaa had recently published an editorial about the son of the home minister but later removed the report after, he alleged, the newspaper’s authorities were compelled to withdraw it.
He also referred to a statement by Youth and Sports State Minister Md Aminul Haque, who had reportedly told the Speaker that he would refrain from voting in parliament because he had not been elected.
Hannan said the statement was initially reported by several media outlets, but some later withdrew their reports.
The lawmaker further claimed that the social media page of a news channel could no longer be found after it published a report concerning Local Government State Minister Mir Shahe Alam.
“Do these incidents not prove that the government is controlling the media?” Hannan asked.
Replying to the allegation, State Minister Yasser Khan said the government, under the leadership of the prime minister, was not interfering with any media outlet.
He said a media organisation could withdraw a report if it subsequently found that the report was incorrect, adding that such a decision was entirely an internal matter of the organisation concerned.
“The media are enjoying the highest level of freedom at present,” he said, adding that the government was not interfering with press freedom in any way.
