Visit Bangladesh to see the reality, govt urges Indian journos
The interim government has urged Indian journalists to visit Bangladesh to observe what is actually going on here.
"We are inviting them [Indian media] to come here [Bangladesh]," Chief Adviser's Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam told a press briefing at the Foreign Service Academy this evening.
He said it has been observed that the effort continues to spread misinformation against Bangladesh over some recent incidents and Indian media is aggressively carrying this out.
"By forging national unity, we have to ask the Indian media to visit here to see what is happening. At the same time, we must maintain our national unity. Our national unity is urgent now as a sort of misinformation is spreading against our country," he said.
"We must resist the misinformation campaign unitedly," he said.
He also urged Bangladeshi newspapers to come forward to combat the misinformation spreading against Bangladesh, terming it a national responsibility.
The press secretary said Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus talked to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in late August and he had asked Modi to encourage Indian journalists to visit Bangladesh to inquire what is happening here – whether there is any violence here or not.
Claiming that the Indian media are collecting information from their liking and unnamed sources, he said, adding that the Netra News has shown the Hindu-Buddhist-Christian Unity Council's report on repression of minorities was distorted.
Shafiqul said the government also calls upon the international human rights bodies and global media to visit Bangladesh to observe the reality as it is very transparent in its activities.
Replying to a question, Shafiqul said instead of checking the news, Indian media is spreading falsehood and as a result, a section of Indians is inciting violence there.
Responding to another query, he said, "We want good relations with India but it should be based on equity and fairness," he added.
Chief Adviser's Deputy Press Secretaries Abul Kalam Azad Majumder and Apurba Jahangir were also present at the press briefing.