Abul Kalam Azad Majumdar, Deputy Press Secretary of the Principal Advisor, has commented that the Bangladesh Secretariat has been turned into a market for brokers.
He expressed this opinion in a status on social media on Saturday (December 28) morning.
In a government press release on Friday, the right to enter the Secretariat through accreditation cards issued in favor of journalists was canceled. In view of this, he expressed this opinion when criticism started in various quarters.
The order said that in the interest of increasing overall security in the Bangladesh Secretariat, all types of temporary (for private persons) Secretariat entry passes except the permanent entry passes (Digital Access Control System) issued in favor of officials and employees working in the Secretariat and the temporary entry passes issued for government officials and employees have been canceled.
Access to the Secretariat through accreditation cards issued in favor of journalists has been canceled until further orders.
The press release also said that holders of different categories of Secretariat access passes that have been canceled can apply for a new temporary access pass within the next 15 days through a special cell set up at Bangladesh Police, Crime Command and Control Center, DMP, 15 Abdul Gani Road, Dhaka.
After the issuance of this notification, a storm of criticism is pouring on social media. In view of this, the Deputy Press Secretary to the Chief Advisor, Abul Kalam Azad Majumder, gave this status on social media.
In the status, he wrote, some people are asking the government to be strict, and if it is even slightly strict, they raise a voice. This hypocrisy must stop. As usual, this hypocrisy has started again regarding restricting the access of journalists to the Secretariat. This decision to restrict access is very temporary.
He wrote, one thing needs to be made clear here, no journalist’s accreditation card has been cancelled through this decision. Its use has been limited only in the secretariat. That too for a very short period. Temporary passes will be issued in cases of necessity. The government has decided that all existing press accreditation cards will be reviewed soon and applications will be sought from all local and international media outlets for the issuance of new accreditation cards.
He further wrote, it is now an open secret, the Bangladesh Secretariat was turned into a bazaar for brokers. There is no reason for anyone except brokers to be alarmed by this latest decision of the government. We think that this will make the work of journalists easier. Even though it is a temporary inconvenience now, it will ultimately help everyone. That is why everyone’s cooperation is being sought. No one should hesitate to admit that the recent fire has caused a disaster for the state. A high-level committee has also been formed for this. Never before in the history of Bangladesh has an incident been investigated together by the Home Secretary, the IGP, the Director General of the Fire Service, and the explosives expert of the army. The current interim government believes in transparency and such committees have been formed. Those who are making a big fuss that the investigation will be conducted by keeping journalists away are seriously mistaken. We believe that journalists will also understand the issue and cooperate with the government in the current situation.
Meanwhile, a decision has been taken to restrict the access of journalists to the Secretariat to ensure the safety of the country’s Key Institutions (KPIs), which suffered a terrible fire this week. The government will soon review the existing press accreditation cards and issue new accreditation cards from the Press Information Department (PID) after accepting new applications from local and international media outlets. In the meantime, daily temporary access cards will be issued by the concerned ministry for any press event. The government regrets the inconvenience caused and seeks the cooperation of journalists.
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