The prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, on Tuesday accused television talk-shows of spreading canards against the government ignoring its development activities.
At a cabinet meeting at the secretariat, she said that guests and media personalities in the talk-shows always spoke negatively and found
faults with the government.
'A negative campaign against the government is going on through the TV talk-shows. Speakers at the talk-shows do not find anything positive about the government's activities. They criticise whatever the government is doing,' a minister quoted the prime minister to have told the cabinet meeting.
Talks-shows, particularly those hosted by the private television channels, have become popular in recent years. Journalists and other professionals, including politicians and academics, take part in the discussions on current issues in the talk-shows.
Hasina asked her cabinet colleagues to focus on the government's development activities while attending media programmes, including talk-shows, said the minister.
Tuesday's cabinet meeting approved a proposal for awarding former Indian prime minister Indira Gandhi posthumously for her assistance to the liberation war of Bangladesh in 1971.
'Late Indian prime minister Indira Gandhi will be honoured with the "Bangladesh Swadhinata Sammanana", the highest state honour, in recognition of her outstanding contributions to the Liberation War of Bangladesh,' the prime minister's press secretary Abul Kalam Azad told reporters after the cabinet meeting.
He said president Zillur Rahman would hand over the posthumous award for Indira Gandhi to her daughter-in-law Sonia Gandhi at Bangabhaban during her visit to Dhaka scheduled for July 25.
Sonia Gandhi, president of Indian Congress Party, will visit Dhaka at the invitation of prime minister Sheikh Hasina to attend a seminar on autistic and disabled children.
The cabinet earlier decided to honour 47 foreign nationals and five institutions in recognition of their great contributions to the country's war of independence in 1971 in three categories – Bangladesh Swadhinata Sammanana, Bangladesh Muktijuddha Sammanana and Bangladesh Muktijuddha Maitri Sammanana.
The cabinet meeting also endorsed the second quarterly report on implementation of its decisions during April-June 2011.
The press secretary said that the Awami League-led government had implemented 670 decisions out of 759 taken by the cabinet since January 2009.
Source : New Age
