Arafat: There shall be free, unrestricted freedom of expression and information

The newly appointed State Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Mohammad Ali Arafat, said on Friday that Bangladesh will be a non-communal and democratic state without any restrictions on freedom of expression.

"There shall be free and unrestricted freedom of expression and information," said Arafat, who is known as an academic, social advocate, and politician.

Those who do politics with a communal mentality want democracy for themselves, but they will not give democracy to others, said the state minister in a message shared on X, formerly known as Twitter.

He said fundamentalist and radical groups want freedom of expression for themselves but not for others, which creates a serious problem for the progress of democracy in a society.

 "Fundamentalism and bigotry are anti-democratic," Arafat said.

First, he said, fundamentalist and communal mentalities should be abandoned, and then democracy should be sought.

Arafat is a two-time member of the Bangladesh parliament, having been twice elected from the Dhaka-17 constituency as an Awami League nominee in the 11th and 12th parliaments, respectively.

He entered the 11th parliament after winning a by-election on July 17 last year on the Awami League ticket.

He is also a member of the Awami League's central working committee.

Over the years, he has been a key asset for the Awami League, in particular as regards the party's political communications and foreign relations functions.

He is also the chairman of the Dhaka-based not-for-profit social-advocacy organization, the Shuchinta Foundation.

He is also a popular face on social media, including Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube.

Source: UNB