Parliament, on Tuesday, witnessed a heated debate centring some reports published in the international media, including London-based daily The Sunday Mirror, which termed the rescue of an RMG worker from the debris of the collapsed building after 17 days of the incident “a hoax”. Taking the floor on point of order, BNP lawmaker Shahid Uddin Chowdhury Anny alleged that such allegations had tarnished the image of the country as well as of the Army.
The BNP lawmaker demanded a judicial probe into the allegation to find out whether the rescue incident was a staged drama or not. “If it was arranged, those who masterminded the drama should be punished,” he demanded.
He also alleged that the government had staged the drama to divert public attention from its corruption and the Hefazat issue.
Responding to his allegation, Awami League presidium member and agriculture minister Matia Chowdhury termed the reports published in the international media as baseless and concocted.
She alleged that the opposition raised the issue to put the Army into controversy as the opposition leader could not keep her cantonment residence by using the Army. “BNP wants to provoke people against the Army, but the Army will give a befitting reply to this,” she said.
“The reporter who filed the report has the record of filing such false reports in the past and he was involved in filing a similar false report regarding the security of the World Cup Football held in South Africa in 2010,” the agriculture minister said, adding that the reporter was also arrested for filing false reports.
Earlier, on Monday, Inter Services Press Relation (ISPR), in a news release, described The Sunday Mirror report on Reshma as “false and baseless”, and said that both the national and international press witnessed the rescue of Reshma, who has not yet fully recovered from the trauma.
At the routine weekly Cabinet meeting on Monday, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is reported to have commented that Reshma’s story published in The Sunday Mirror was fabricated and designed to undermine Bangladesh’s reputation.
A senior minister, who also attended the same meeting, said that Bangladesh would send a protest letter to the editor of The Sunday Mirror.
-With The Independent input
