Dhaka: Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday distributed financial assistance among distressed journalists at her office.

A total of 196 journalists received Tk 1.40crore from the Prime Minister under the Journalists Welfare Trust.

After the distributing the amount, prime minister, while addressing the journalists, said, BNP is planning to divert the country to another direction by including war criminals and their children into its new central committee.

‘This party [BNP] doesn’t believe in the country’s liberation and independence...it doesn’t believe in the peace of people, development of the country. Today, this should be clear among people. People are seeing how this party is today planning to divert the country to another direction,’ she said.

Hasina further questioned saying those who patronised the war criminals and put them in various important posts and positions of the country, including ministers, what will happen to them. ‘What will be their punishment, this is now the question of all?’

Turning to the 15 August  massacre in which the Father of the Nation and his family members were killed, she said that killings were not just simple killings. ‘That were done with a plot to bring a totally different spirit counter to that of our Liberation War. The aim of the massacre was to prevent the good outcomes of the independence from reaching to the doorsteps of the common people,’ she said.

Recalling the horrible days during the BNP-Jamaat regime after 2001, Hasina said whenever this clique comes to power it always patronises militancy.

Expressing her firm resolve against all sorts of militancy and terrorism in the country, the Prime Minister said the government will never allow and patronise any kind of injustice in the country.

Welcoming criticisms from the media people, the Prime Minister said: ‘Let there be criticism as much as you want, there is no objection about that, but all the criticisms have to be constructive and educative that will lead to correction.’

She urged all the journalist community be vocal against militancy and terrorism as the government has taken anti-militancy and terrorism stance.

Responding to the journalists’ community demand for announcing the ninth wage board, the Prime Minister asked the Information Minister, who was present there, to take appropriate steps.

She asked the media owners who are getting benefits in terms of implementing eight wage board to give all the facilities to the journalists. ‘We want you to look after the facilities of the journalists,’ she said.

Talking about the online media policy, she said that these media outlets have to be under a policy.

Information Minister Hasanul Haq Inu, PM’s Media Adviser Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury, chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Information Ministry AKM Rahmatullah MP, Bangladesh Federal Journalists’ Union president Manjurul Ahsan Bulbul, secretary general Omar Faruq, Dhaka Journalists’ Union president Shaban Mahmud, general secretary Sohel Haider Chowdhury and Information Secretary Martuza Ahmed, also spoke at the programme.