Some leaders and workers of the National Citizen Party (NCP) misbehaved with journalists during a press conference at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka on Thursday.
In protest, the on-duty journalists boycotted the press conference of NCP Member Secretary Akhtar Hossain and Senior Joint Member Secretary Dr. Tasnim Zara, who returned to Dhaka after their visit to the United States as part of the entourage of the chief adviser.
The incident took place at the airport’s VIP gate at around 9:45am on Thursday. However, when this incident happened, Akhtar Hossain and Tasnim Zara did not reach the spot.
NCP later said in a statement that the allegation against its leaders and workers is sad and condemnable at the same time. โThe NCP is looking into the matter. The process of identifying the responsible people is already underway. It has been ordered to take organisational action against them, subject to proof.โ
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A journalist, who witnessed the incident at the airport, told Prothom Alo, said that BNP leader Tarique Rahman’s foreign affairs adviser Humayun Kabir was talking to journalists at the VIP gate.
At that time, some NCP leaders and workers were standing next to Akhtar Hossain and Dr. Tasnim Zara with flowers. During Humayun Kabir’s speech, NCP leaders and workers started chanting slogans like โInqilab Inqilab, Zindabad Zindabad.โ
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Journalists were having trouble listening to Humayun Kabir. A journalist requested the NCP leaders and workers not to raise slogans in such a loud voice. Then some NCP leaders misbehaved with some journalists. Based on this, the journalists announced the boycott of NCP leaders Akhtar Hossain and Dr. Tasnim Zara’s press conference at the airport.
In a video circulating on social media, it can be seen that the journalists are leaving after announcing the boycott of the press conference. Then some NCP leaders are requesting the journalists not to boycott the press conference. Many of the angry journalists are criticising the misbehaviour of NCP leaders and workers.
NCP leader and activists have been carrying out violence against journalists since July last year.
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