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BNP Standing Committee member Mirza Abbas has alleged that the media is not reporting on businessmen who benefited under the previous Awami League government and are now supporting different political parties.
However, he did not name any specific businessmen or political leaders.
The Iftar program of the `Amara BNP paribar' organized at the Lakeshore Hotel in Gulshan, the capital, was presided over by Atiqur Rahman Rumon, a senior journalist and member of the BNP media cell and convener of the `Amara BNP paribar'
BNP Standing Committee member Mirza Abbas, Dr. Abdul Moin Khan, Selima Rahman and other senior leaders of the BNP were present at the program. Abbas said: “You are not writing about which businessmen’s helicopters are being used for trips, who is giving money to whom, and which political parties are keeping certain businessmen afloat.”
He added, “You are not writing anything about a particular party. Many things are happening behind the scenes, yet you remain silent. But you are inflating and exaggerating reports about the BNP.”
Criticising the lack of reports on businessmen funding political parties, Abbas said: “There are businessmen accused in murder cases, not just one or two cases—many incidents remain unreported. Even beyond July and August, businessmen have been involved in killings, but you are not writing about them.”
Claiming he was not attacking journalists, Abbas said: “I just want to point out where you are making mistakes.”
He warned that this was harming the country and the nation, saying: “Why are you (the media) not highlighting who attended the business conference in early July, who got arrested, who didn’t, and why? You should be reporting this.”
He continued, “These people have been amassing wealth for 17 years and will spend the next 17 years using that money to destroy Bangladesh.”
Urging the media to expose such individuals, Abbas said: “They think having money means they own the world. But they don’t realise that not all journalists can be bought. That is something I have witnessed in my lifetime.”
He also explained why he was urging the media to be vocal against businessmen backed by the previous “fascist” government.
“I am not speaking against them; I am speaking for myself. Because I want to survive. I have to survive,” he said.
“If these people keep roaming around with their illegal money, no one in Bangladesh will be able to live peacefully. They will make this country sick, they will destroy its people, and they will ruin its democracy.”
Abbas alleged that it was not just corrupt businessmen but also Awami League loyalists who continued to control key institutions.
“It’s not just businessmen looting illegal money—look inside the Secretariat. Awami League loyalists are still running everything. They are in the Secretariat, the police stations, the union councils—they have taken control everywhere.”
“Journalists should investigate and expose their positions to protect the country and the nation,” he urged.
Praising journalists’ role in establishing democracy, Abbas said: “You must clearly report where Awami League’s loyalists are positioned today and what roles different political parties and their leaders are playing in Bangladesh’s politics.”
Speaking as a special guest at the event, BNP Standing Committee member Dr. Abdul Moin Khan said, "We should not make any new mistakes while building a new Bangladesh. We have to keep the purpose and goal of the uprising of students and the public intact." He said, "Why has the Digital Security Act, the biggest obstacle to the development of journalism, not been repealed yet?" The former Information Minister asked the government in whose interest this law is still in force.
At the event, BNP Standing Committee member Begum Selima Rahman said, "Journalists were one of our main sources of hope during the party's difficult times. The nation has come to know the real information through journalists." She also expressed her hope that BNP will always receive the cooperation of journalists in the future.
The Iftar party hosted by senior journalist Zahidul Islam Roni also included the following speakers: Shahiduddin Chowdhury Annie, advisor to the organization and BNP Central Joint Secretary General, M Rashiduzzaman Millat, BNP Media Cell Convener Professor Dr. Moudud Hossain Alamgir Pavel, Media Cell member and party's Central Executive Committee Deputy Local Government Affairs Secretary Shammi Akhter, 'Amra BNP Paribas' advisor and BNP's Science and Technology Affairs Co-editor Engineer Ashraf Uddin Bakul, advisor Md. Abul Kashem, Engineer Mostafa-e-Zaman Selim, BNP Chairperson's Private Secretary ABM Abdus Sattar, Brigadier General (Retd.) Dr. AKM Shamsul Islam and 'Amra BNP Paribas' member secretary agriculturist Mokchedul Momin Mithun, editor-in-chief of the Daily Manabzamin newspaper Matiur Rahman Chowdhury, editor Mahbuba Chowdhury, among others.
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