Govt to take legal action against false reporting: Deputy Press Secretary

Chief Adviser’s Deputy Press Secretary Abdul Kalam Azad Majumder on Wednesday warned that the interim government would take legal action against those who publish misleading or false information.

"We have never given anyone a licence to publish false reports," he said, stressing that the government will take legal steps against anyone spreading misinformation from now on.

At a press briefing at the Foreign Service Academy, Azad also said the interim government upholds press freedom and welcomes constructive criticisms.

The Chief Adviser's Office strongly criticised a media report claiming that freedom fighter status had been revoked for Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and over 400 political leaders, calling it "false, baseless and misleading" and warning of legal action against those responsible.

Azad said the government hopes the news outlets who published "wrong, misleading" reports will correct their mistakes, publish a corrigendum in the same spot where they published the wrong report, and apologise to their readers and the people of Bangladesh who were misled by these reports.

Chief Adviser’s Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam and Senior Assistant Press Secretary Foyez Ahammad were also present at the briefing.