Staff Reporter:
Newly-appointed State Minister for Information and Broadcasting Mohammad Ali Arafat on Friday said Bangladesh will be a non-communal and democratic state without any restrictions on freedom of expression.
“There shall be free and unrestricted freedom of expression and information,” said Arafat, who is known as an academic, social advocate, and politician.
Those who do politics with a communal mentality want democracy for themselves, but they will not give democracy to others, said the state minister, in a message shared on X, formerly known as Twitter.
He said fundamentalist and radical groups want freedom of expression for themselves but not for others, which creates a serious problem for the progress of democracy in a society. “Fundamentalism and bigotry are anti-democratic.”
First, he said, fundamentalist and communal mentalities should be abandoned, and then democracy should be sought.
Arafat is a two-time member of parliament, having been elected from the Dhaka-17 constituency as an Awami League nominee in the 11th and 12th parliaments respectively.
He entered the 11th parliament after winning a by-election on 17 July last year.
He is also a member of the Awami League’s central working committee.
Over the years, he has been a key asset for the Awami League, in particular as regards the party’s political communications and foreign relations functions.
He is also the chairman of the Dhaka-based not-for-profit social-advocacy organisation, Shuchinta Foundation.
He is also a popular face in social media, including Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.
