Works are underway on 9th Wage Board: Inu

Information Minister Hasanul Haq Inu today said works were underway for constituting the ninth wage board for newspaper and electronic media alongside updating laws regarding the press and particularly the Broadcasting Policy and Cyber Law.

Speaking at the "Meet the Reporterss" programme at the Dhaka Reporters` Unity (DRU) auditorium, he said the government had done the "groundwork" for the new wage board and now it was now up to the stakeholders to nominate their representatives to the Board.

He also assured journalists that the electronic media would be represented in the Board.

Regarding the other new laws he assured the media that those would not be meant to curtail the freedom of the media or expression.

"Rest assured that the new laws --broadcasting and cyber-would not be restrictive", he assured the journalists.

He added: "We`re living in a glass house and that is why we need a mosquito net to protect it from pests and insects, we are only creating that net," he explained. The minister elaborately explained adverse influence that come through a laissez-faire broadcasting and cyber policy affecting particularly the children, women, and the state.

"Therefore we are working on the proper regulatory framework which would protect the nation as well as ensure healthy growth of the industry," he said.

Responding to a question about the current political situation, he said "We cannot discuss about the election-time government as proposed by BNP because they have not explained it."

However, he added "my hunch is that they are using it as a bargaining chip to protect the militants, war criminals and the corrupt".

"This ploy will not work. We will not bargain with killers and corrupt elements. The pending cases against Khaleda Zia and the campaign against militancy would continue and so would the electoral process," he said.

"It is up to the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) to decide whether they would participate in the elections with or without Khaleda . . . It is none of our business. Elections would be held on schedule.

It doesn`t matter who participates or not," he said. The minister also said that the government of Sheikh Hasina was not there for "routine" work rather it was there with a vision of peace, progress, prosperity and equity.