BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir today said the Awami League government has been strategically controlling the country's media for almost one and a half decades.

"The government commits misdeeds, snatches the minimum constitutional rights of people, and by controlling media, it keep these (misdeeds) hidden from public eyes," Fakhrul said.

He made the remarks at a seminar titled "Media in Bangladesh: One and a Half Decades of NIGHTMARE" in capital's Gulshan.

"To make their power permanent, the Awami League government has amended the constitution. It is controlling the parliament, fully dictating the electoral system, the administration. Most worryingly, they are controlling the media," he added.

He mentioned that there is no democracy in Bangladesh even 52 years after independence. "Today, the media has no freedom. ... they cannot work," he added.

"Democracy is not possible without independent media. If there is no media freedom, they cannot work," he added.

Fakhrul claimed that the international community is clearly saying there is no democracy in Bangladesh and no credible elections are held under the AL government.