Foreign minister AK Abdul Momen said that the media has placed him in an awkward situation by exaggerating his statement about people of Bangladesh living in ‘heaven’.
The foreign minister had a meeting with UN High Commissioner for human rights Michelle Bachelet at the state guest house Padma on Sunday.
In a press meet after the meeting, the foreign minister spoke about the backlash he has been facing since his controversial comment where he said that Bangladeshis are living in ‘heaven’ compared to other countries.
The foreign minister said, “I didn’t mean heaven in true sense. But all of you have chewed me out.”
AK Abdul Momen made the comment after a programme in Sylhet. He said, “One party is trying to spread panic, saying that Bangladesh will turn into Sri Lanka. In reality, this has no basis. In this global recession, we are living in heaven compared to other countries.”
The foreign minister is receiving a lot of flak for this comment. He explained his comments on Saturday, but that didn’t slow down the waves of criticism.
BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said on Saturday, the people of this country are facing hardships every second, struggling to survive and their lives have turned unbearable. During such a time, the foreign minister said that the people are in heaven. With his comment, he is ridiculing the people.
The foreign minister further said on Sunday, “Am I curbing media freedom? After all I am a public figure. Of course, you can criticise me. I don’t mind. But in the future, you have to be careful. I’m a frank person. I’m also a teacher. Whatever I feel, I speak about it openly.”
