By NNN-BSS,
Sangsad Bhaban, Bangladesh : The number of the daily newspapers and fortnightly magazines in the country which got no objection certificates and declaration till May 31 this year is 592 and 76 respectively.
Of them, 424 dailies and 39 fortnightlies have been publishing and the rest 168 dailies and 37 fortnightlies were not published, Information Minister Abul Kalam Azad told the House in reply to a question raised by treasury bench member Mohammad Ekabbar Hossain on Saturday.
Responding to a question from ruling party lawmaker Shamsul Haque Chowdhury, the information minister said the government organizations can give advertisements directly to the district-based newspapers according to the advertisement and supplementary policy of the information ministry.
“As the government organizations give ads to the newspapers directly, the fixation of quantity of ads given by the Information Ministry and the Films and Publication Department under the ministry is not possible,” he said.
The information minister told AL member AKM Fazlul Haque that there is no government barrier to publish daily or weekly newspapers lawfully.
According to the Printing and Publications (Declaration and Registration) Act, 1973, he said, newspapers are published taking declaration from the concerned office of the deputy commissioner and no objection certificate of name of the newspapers is
collected from the Department of Films and Publications through the deputy commissioner’s office.