Dhaka, Oct 25 BNP Spokesman Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Thursday severely criticised Shipping Minister Shajahan Khan for allegedly threatening BNP leader Rafiqul Islam Mia during a live television talk show Monday night and said such conduct is an infringement of the freedom of speech and a threat to democracy.
"The way Shajahan Khan as a Minister threatened our party's Standing Committee Member Rafiqul Islam Mia, we think, is tantamount to violation of freedom of speech. We strongly condemn the Shipping Minister's conduct," Alamgir said at a press briefing after a joint meeting at Naya Paltan BNP headquarters in the city.
The private media channel Rtv had to suspend a live programme for a few minutes on Monday night due to a nasty argument between Shahjahan Khan and Rafiqul Islam Mia. The two got locked in a heated argument in the "Our Democracy" programme where Monday's topic was "Safe Journey Home for Eid and Puja".
The programme was taken off air, as the two leaders got engaged in personal attack while talking about the performance of the incumbent government and that of the BNP-led four-party government.
The moderator of the programme said that during the exchange of indecent words between them, Shajahan Khan threatened to gouge Rafiqul Islam Mia's eyes out. The minister's conduct was the focus of debate both in political arena and the social networking site, Facebook.
Senior BNP leader Rafiqul Islam Mia was the Public Works Minister in former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia's cabinet between 1991 and 1995.
About the threat, Alamgir said on Thursday that the people both at home and abroad watched the conduct of the Shipping Minister towards the BNP leader. Those who make such remarks actually violate the freedom of speech and harm democracy."
The BNP Acting Secretary General claimed that the ruling party's influential leaders and activists were illegally collecting toll from trucks carrying sacrificial animals from various districts to the capital city at different points on the highways ahead of the Eid-ul-Azha, thus causing traffic gridlock and immense sufferings to the homebound passengers.
He also demanded restoration of the constitutional provision of the caretaker government to hold the next parliamentary election in a free, fair and neutral manner.
Disapproving the government's plan to amend the Companies Act to appoint administrators to troubled private companies, the BNP leader said the motive behind this move was to establish government's control over the private companies and harass businessmen.
"The government's autocratic attitude has been reflected through it," he added.
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