Information Minister Hasanul Huq Inu said Tuesday the government is mulling over lifting the ban on private television channels, Islamic Television and Diganta Television.
Inu’s statement in parliament came in reply to a written question of AKM Mayeedul Islam (Kurigram-3).
He said that the two TV channels were shut down temporarily as they violated the broadcast rules and breached relevant laws.
About the daily Amar Desh newspaper, he said that the government did not shut down the publication of the newspaper.
In this connection he said that the declaration of the newspaper was cancelled from the office of the Deputy Commissioner, Dhaka. Later the publication continued as per the directive of the court.
But the newspaper used another press to print it, which was also the violation of the rules. A case was filed for this violation and police confiscated the newspaper. “As a result the newspaper is not published now,” Inu said.
He also said the newspaper can not start the process of resuming publication before the disposal of the case.
Replying to a starred question of AKM Mayeedul Islam, the minister said there are three state-run television channels in the country.
He said, the Awami League government during its 2009-13 tenure gave licenses to 31 private television channels taking the total number of channels permitted by the government to 41.
