State minister Zunaid Ahmed seeks apology to the youth
State minister for posts, telecommunication and information technology Zunaid Ahmed Friday sought apology to the young generation for their mistakes, if there is any, centering the quota reform movement.
He said this at a discussion marking the National Mourning Day at his Natore residence in the afternoon.
“I’m seeking an apology in public if I have committed any mistake to the youth. I’m taking all the responsibilities of internet disruption and failure to prevent rumour. I’m also pledging to abide by any decision,” the state minister said.
Zunaid Ahmed further said they feel bad if the prime minister is blamed for the mistakes they committed.
He requested all not to misunderstand the prime minister.
Instead, he said, they were ready for any retributive action if the young generation misunderstands them for any negligence in their duties.
Mentioning that a distance has been created between the students and the government, he said, “I think that the students are not at fault for the distance that has been created. This is our fault. This is the responsibility of us, who have failed to fulfil their duties. There is no way we can shirk this failure. This is my failure as well.”
If anyone should be punished for failure to carry out their duties properly, it should be me. But why is the prime minister being attacked? Why criticisms are directed against her?
The state minister further said, “The distance that has been created, can never be resolved by taking a hard decision towards them. It has to be solved with the correct decision. If we show sensitivity to them, sit with them with affection, listen to them instead of taking hard decisions, then we believe that this distance of misunderstanding will be removed and the efforts of the plotters regarding the government won’t be successful.”
At the outset of his speech, Zunaid Ahmed said, “We are participating in this mourning meeting and discussion at such a time, when our Bangladesh, our children, youths, adolescents are in a movement and a misunderstanding between these students has created distance with our government. At that time, anti-independence and anti-national, conspirators at home and abroad were trying to seize the opportunity to destabilise Bangladesh and disrupt the development progress of the country.
Acknowledging that the students waged the quota reform movement peacefully, the state minister claimed that neither the law enforcement agencies nor anyone of the Awami League or Bangladesh Chhatra League attacked them during their one-month-long movement. He said the students also were not involved in any undisciplined activities. “But the BNP and Jamaat, Chhatra Dal and Shibir, and militants are trying to create unrest by spreading false propaganda and spreading rumours of the deaths of students.”
However, mentioning that a distance between the students and the government has been created, Zunaid Ahmed said, “We have to take initiatives to remove the distance and misunderstanding that has been created. We have to do it from our homes, neighbours and institutions. We have to learn to read the language in the eyes of the students. We have to understand their minds.”
The state minister has been facing criticisms over deaths of so many people centering the quota reform movement across the country and shutdown of the Internet for five consecutive days. Though the government shutdown the Internet, he said, the internet shut down as the data centre in Mohakhali was damaged and the fibre cable was cut.
The state minister said, “If anyone is responsible for the interruption of internet services across the country, then it is me. As the state minister for posts, telecommunications and information technology, I am responsible for the nationwide internet disruption. If anyone should be punished for failure to carry out their duties properly, it should be me. But why is the prime minister being attacked? Why criticisms are directed against her?”
The state minister also alleged that some masked conspirators are saying sweet words on TV to install a Hamid Karzai-like puppet government in Bangladesh. It will take time to unravel this conspiracy.
The state minister also mentioned that members of Awami League and related organisations could blame him if he fails to prevent rumours and ensure cyber security.