Freedom of speech must not descend into abuse: PM

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has said that while freedom of speech is unrestricted in a democratic environment, it must not cross the limits of decency. He also called upon everyone, regardless of party affiliation, to unite against the "culture of abuse" in the political arena.

The Prime Minister made these remarks in his closing speech at the third session of the 13th National Parliament on Thursday.

Tarique Rahman said the democratic rights and freedom of speech of the people were snatched away during fascist rule. Currently, a democratic environment prevails in the country and people are getting the opportunity to speak freely. However, everyone must remain cautious so that this freedom does not descend into the use of indecent language.

He said political differences are a normal part of democracy. But dissent must not turn into enmity. If political culture descends into abuse, it is harmful to democracy. Therefore, he called upon everyone, including the government and the opposition, to play a responsible role.

The Prime Minister asked why words that people are uncomfortable using in a family environment should be used in important places like the public sphere or parliament. At that time, MPs thumped their desks in support of his remarks.

In his closing speech, Tarique Rahman warned against divisions among democratic forces, saying that mutual conflict and division could ultimately create an opportunity to revive the ousted fascist forces. Considering the responsibility towards future generations and the martyrs, he called upon everyone to move forward unitedly in the task of repairing the state.

The Prime Minister also spoke about making parliament the focal point of national activities. Emphasising effective discussion and initiatives to solve people's problems in parliament, he thanked the MPs.

The Prime Minister also spoke about the country's gas and power crisis. He said adequate efforts were not made to extract gas from domestic sources for a long time. Meanwhile, the war in the Middle East has created obstacles to importing gas and oil. The crisis worsened further after one of the two floating LNG terminals became inoperative due to an accident.

Criticising the opposition's long march over the energy crisis, Tarique Rahman said if long marches with motorcades could solve the gas or power problem, the government itself would have organised such programmes first. He also said the government has already taken various initiatives to tackle the crisis. He also outlined plans to reduce import dependence through solar power generation in the future.

On the economy, the Prime Minister said the current government inherited corruption, looting, money laundering and the burden of debt from the previous government. He claimed that $20,476 crore had been paid towards principal and interest on foreign loans in the past five months. He also said the ratio of defaulted loans has come down to 32.6 percent.

The third session of the 13th National Parliament began on August 27. The session ended on Thursday with the reading out of the President's order.