Dhaka University teacher’s antics in talk-show spark social media storm

Video footage of a television talk-show in which a Dhaka University teacher is locked in a scuffle with another participant has taken the social media by storm.

Social Media Deskbdnews24.com
Published : 5 May 2015, 03:25 PM
Updated : 5 May 2015, 03:25 PM

The host of the talk-show, ‘Ekusher Rate’, on private Ekushey Television is being criticised in the social media, including Facebook, for his failing to avert the row.

Manjurul Alam Panna hosted the Monday night talk-show in which the participants were DU teacher M Shahiduzzaman, retired Maj Gen Abdur Rashid and Prothom Ali journalist Tipu Sultan.

The 55-second footage is being shared on different social media with varied comments.

The footage shows Prof Shahiduzzaman ‘aggressively’ shooting questions with raised fingers when Rashid was talking about strategic intelligence.

He kept saying: “You are talking about me.”

Rashid told the professor: “Don’t point your fingers at me.”

As Shahiduzzaman did not pay heed to that, Rashid pulled down the professor’s arm, provoking Shahiduzzaman to slap him.

With the programme going on live, the host was helplessly looking for production people for help.

When contacted, Rashid told bdnews24.com their topic was al-Qaeda’s Indian offshoot claiming responsibility for secular blogger Avijit Roy’s murder.

“I was talking about strategic intelligence at that time. He (Shahiduzzaman) was saying there was nothing like strategic intelligence. He could not contain his temper during the debate.”

“That’s why some untoward incidents happened,” he added.

He said the scuffle was not unexpected; it was an issue of debate.

About Shahiduzzaman slapping him, the former army officer said: “When this sort of heated situation develops, one cannot realise how one is behaving.”

Prof Shahiduzzaman told bdnews24.com: “He (Rashid) was interrupting me time and again when I was speaking.

“I did not know that he would come. I would not have come had I known he would come, too.”

He said he had faced similar interruption before during debates with Rashid.

About social media criticism, the professor said: “I am busy with my studies and research. I don’t have time to think what is being said in the social media.”

Shahiduzzaman, however, said: “He (Rashid) is being criticised more.”