CPD's research report is blatant lie: Information Minister
- CPD played hide and seek in making the report
- Served many untrue and misinformation
- The rest amount of the loan
Information and Broadcasting Minister and Awami League Joint General Secretary Dr Hasan Mahmud on Monday said the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) did not do any research and their statement is nothing but an outright lie.
"They held a press conference and presented a statement just compiling media reports," he told reporters after placing a glowing tribute to the portrait of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman at BTV Chittagong center, marking the 59th founding anniversary of the state-owned BTV.
The minister said the CPD at the press conference claimed that they conducted the research, but in fact, research needs a lot of time and a lot of information. But the CPD played hide and seek in making the report and served many untrue and misinformation, he said.
Dr Hasan said the CPD claimed that 75% of the country's development budget comes from foreign aid. But the reality is that 35% of the development budget comes from foreign aid, which was less earlier, he said.
He said the CPD has claimed that Tk4,000 crore has been distributed as a loan from the Basic Bank. But, out of the loan, Tk2,000 crore has already been realised while cases are going on to realize the rest amount of the loan, he added.
The minister said the CPD also claimed that the Nabil Group took a loan of Tk2,700 crore. But the amount of the loan has been realised which was mentioned in the report, he said, adding that they (CPD) did it intentionally.
The CPD said about a group of Chittagong, he said, adding: "I checked it with Bangladesh Bank. None of the loans in that group are classified, which means the CPD has given false information, he said.
Hasan Mahmud said the CPD claimed that the size of classified loans has been increased, but they did not tell about the percentage, as the percentage of classified loans has decreased. The GDP was $80 billion in 2009 and now the GDP is about $500 billion, he said.
The minister said the CPD held the press conference just before the election intentionally.
About BNP's program, the information minister said the countrymen did not know about their three-day program. People do not know when they are announcing hartal or blockade programs, he said.
Dr Hasan greeted the Christians on Christmas Day.
He said the country became independent with the exchange of blood from all religions, including Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist, and Christian.
Earlier, the minister planted a tree on the premises of BTV Chittagong Centre and congratulated all artists, officers, and employees of the organization.
