Md Ayeen Uddin

Lawmaker of Rajshahi-3 constituency Md Ayeen Uddin has said "nothing is more effective than beating" while describing how the "so-called" journalists involved in various crimes should be treated.

He made the remark while addressing a public meeting observing the National Mourning Day in Kesharhat municipality on August 27.

A video clip of the lawmaker's speech has gone viral on social media.

He said this while referring to some local journalists of Mohonpur upazila who, according to him, "are involved in extortion, drug trade and addiction under the guise of the noble profession".

"Law is strict, yet there is no law greater than beating. Whenever you find such so-called journalists, catch them and thrash them so hard that they do not dare to show up again," he said.

In the video, he also said that Mohonpur upazila has "more web portals than the entire country".

When contacted yesterday, the lawmaker confirmed his statement but said that the video clip did not show the complete speech.

"I wanted to say that there was no greater power than the people," he said.

"My statement only refers to those who are committing crimes by opening web portals and claiming them to be journalists," he said, adding, "I made the statement to save the honour of true journalists who are dedicated to upholding justice."

He said Mohonpur upazila was a small one with six unions, one municipality and 67 wards, but it has at least 76 journalists.

"These journalists and web portals have no office and gatekeepers. So it is not easy to register a complaint against them. Whenever police arrest them, they come out of jail in a few days and reengage in crimes," he said.

He said he had also told the meeting that his own party Awami League has "extortionists" too. In some cases, those extortionists form syndicates with the "criminal journalists", he mentioned.

"Such syndicates have become active these days. It seems like there is a competition to become a journalist. Some extortionists of our party maintain close ties with the so-called journalists…," he said.