Government Moves to Amend Law After Kazi Jessin’s Appointment as BTV Director General Under Flawed Legislation Draws Criticism

❐ Staff Reporter

The government has taken the initiative to amend the notification appointing news anchor and talk show host Kazi Jessin as the Director General (DG) of Bangladesh Television (BTV) after questions were raised about whether the law under which he was appointed was even effective.

According to sources in the Ministry of Public Administration, Kazi Jessin will remain as the Director General of BTV. However, a new notification will be issued by amending the legal basis mentioned in the appointment notification.

Earlier, on Thursday, the Ministry of Public Administration issued a notification appointing Kazi Jessin as the Director General of BTV. The notification mentioned the ‘Bangladesh Television Authority Act-2001’. After that, questions were raised about the effectiveness of the act.

Sources said that the ‘Bangladesh Television Authority Act’ was passed by the National Parliament in 2001 during the then Awami League government with the aim of transforming BTV into an autonomous institution. However, for the law to come into effect, the government needed to issue a gazette notification.

The relevant section of the law states, ‘This Act shall come into force on such date as the Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint.’

But even though it has been almost 25 years since the law was passed in parliament, no official gazette notification has been issued to implement it, according to sources concerned. As a result, even though the law was passed in parliament, it has not yet been implemented, raising questions about the legal basis for appointing the BTV Director General by citing that law.

Although there are at least 22 documents related to the organization’s various rules and regulations on BTV’s website, there is no information or notification mentioning the implementation of the ‘Bangladesh Television Authority Act-2001’.

Following criticism and questions, the Ministry of Public Administration has decided to revise the recruitment notification. Ministry officials said that it will not be necessary to seek fresh approval for the recruitment. The revised notification will be issued under the same notification number and will replace the previous notification.

In other words, even though the legal basis for the appointment has been amended, there is no change in Kazi Jessin’s duties as Director General of BTV.

Those concerned believe that this government initiative will put an end to the questions raised about the legal basis used in recruitment.