Information and Broadcasting Minister Andaleeve Rahman on Tuesday called for a social boycott of those who practise “intellectual fascism”.

“We can’t do anything except socially condemn and boycott those media outlets that support, promote or practise fascism intellectually,” he said.

The minister was responding to a question at a weekly press briefing on the government’s progress at the conference room of the Press Information Department (PID) at the Bangladesh Secretariat.

At the start of the briefing, Andaleeve unveiled the cover of a PID-published book, “I Have a Plan: Six Months of the Democratic Journey”, highlighting the government’s special achievements over the past six months.

Speaking strongly against intellectual fascism, the minister said: “If anyone supports or promotes fascism through intellectual thinking and consciousness, we have nothing to do but socially condemn such a practice.

“Those who don’t believe in the spirit of a free Bangladesh and a newly independent Bangladesh deserve to be socially boycotted, which is the greatest form of justice for them.”

Asked about press freedom, he said believing in democracy was a matter of mindset.

“The mindset we witnessed over the past 17 years was one of taking a position against criticism. But neither the present government nor the prime minister has any intention of restricting media freedom or controlling the media,” Andaleeve said.

Describing the state of institutions under the previous regime, he said: “Over the past 17 years, all systems in the country were corrupt. After taking responsibility following such a fragile situation, the government is going through one of the most difficult periods in the country’s history.”

“In this situation, we expect objective criticism from you so that we can correct our mistakes and move forward on the right path,” he added.

Asked about ousted Sheikh Hasina, the minister said: “She is currently staying in India. According to reports in the Indian media, efforts are underway to resolve the matter through the court or judicial process.”

He said, however, that the Bangladesh government’s clear demand was that all those with cases against them for past crimes, including the July uprising, would be brought back for the sake of proper justice.

Asked about the practice of falsely reporting newspaper circulation figures, the minister said the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting had begun vigorous efforts to stop newspapers from printing small numbers of copies while claiming circulations of more than 100,000.

State Minister for Information and Broadcasting Yasser Khan Choudhury said: “I told earlier that everyone has the freedom to speak against the government. Whether it is against or in favour of the government, presenting the voice of the people is democracy,” he said.

Instructions have been given to Bangladesh Television (BTV) and government media outlets to give proportionate coverage to opposition parties, he added.

The state minister added that an application had been submitted to the finance ministry to double the trust fund grant for the welfare of journalists. BDT 10 million had already been transferred for sick and insolvent journalists, he said.

Information and Broadcasting Ministry Secretary Mahbuba Farjana and Principal Information Officer (PIO) Syed Abdal Ahmed attended the briefing.