Agriculture Minister Matia Chowdhury has raised question in Parliament about journalistic ethics of Bangla-language daily 'Prothom Alo'on Sunday, reports bdnews24.com.
She pointed out the political affiliations of the daily's Jhenidah correspondent, who reported on a government project to subsidise the purchase of power tillers by farmers.
"Azad Rahman was a secretary to Jhenidah's Kaliganj Upazila Chhatra Dal between 1991 and 1996. He was the general secretary of the Juba Dal between 1998 and 2000.
"He was also involved with former minister Tariqul Islam's local daily Lokshamaj," Chowdhury said. She kept on blasting the daily edited by her former political colleague Matiur Rahman.
The daily on May 27 published a report alleging that ruling party men were pocketing most of the 25 per cent subsidy given on power tillers.
The Prothom Alo claimed the eight of the 15 who got the subsidy in Jhenidah's Kotchandpur were leaders and activists of Awami League's youth front, the Juba League.
The others were activists of the ruling party's other associate organisations.
It further claimed only six of them had bought power tillers, while the others claimed the subsidy money showing fake bills and vouchers.
Chowdhury first reacted to the report in Parliament on June 16, taking a dig at the paper, saying 'many of us' read Prothom Alo with interest and there was no denying that it had a big readership.
Rahman was a mid-level leader of Bangladesh Chhatra Union in the 1960s when Chowdhury used to lead it.
Later, Rahman became a treasurer of Shamsuddoha-led committee and a secretariat member of the Communist Party of Bangladesh. He also edited its mouthpiece 'Ekota'.
Admired even by her staunchest critics for unquestionable honesty, she said, "We never imagined Prothom Alo could do this sort of journalism.
She said she had sent this statement to the newspaper knowing 'full well that they will publish just three or at best four lines tomorrow". The newspaper ran a report again on her statement in Parliament and again drew her criticism.
Lastly, on July 2, the newspaper ran a follow-up saying their report was not 'untrue' as claimed by the minister.
It claimed five of the farmers given the subsidy were yet to buy the farming equipment and took the subsidy showing used tillers taken from others.
On Sunday, Chowdhury trashed the Prothom Alo findings, saying her ministry again investigated the claims on July 3 and found the newspaper report to be false. She asserted the subsidy was not given to farmers directly.
According to her, it is handed to the approved suppliers after the tillers are officially handed over to farmers at the Upazila headquarters after payment of 75 per cent of the price.
