Speaking in Parliament on Tuesday, she said government investigations into a report run by the newspaper on May 27 found no truth.
The minister made the statement under Rule 300, which does not allow supplementary question to be asked.
The daily carried the report claiming ruling Awami League leaders and activists pocketed a big share of the subsidy for power tiller.
It prompted the commissioning of an enquiry committee drawn from officials of several ministries, Chowdhury said.
When she used to lead Left-leaning student organisation Bangladesh Chhatra Union in the 1960s, Prothom Alo Editor Matiur Rahman was a mid-level leader. Later, Rahman was the treasurer of Shamsuddoha-led committee.
He was the member of the Secretariat of the Communist Party of Bangladesh and edited its mouthpiece ‘Ekota’.
Taking a dig at the paper edited by her former comrade, Matia Chowdhury said ‘many of us’ read Prothom Alo with interest and there was no denying that it had a big readership.
“But it is very much against the standard journalism practice to write false report, present false news just because you have the pen."
Admired even by her staunchest critics for unquestionable honesty, the veteran politician said, “We never imagined Prothom Alo could do this sort of journalism. It is because of this reason that I’m presenting the report before the nation."
She said she had sent this statement of her to the newspaper knowing ‘full well that they will publish just three or at best four lines tomorrow”.
“They will publish (rejoinders) only so much (that it does not affect them).”
The minister said Jhenaidah correspondent Azad Rahman was asked by the investigators to appear before them, but he refused.
“But we did not make the committee with people only from the agriculture ministry!”
“Therefore, the less the newspaper does this style of journalism, the better it will be for the people. It is also for the sake of their reputation that they do so."
The probe committee recommended action in line with the law against the reporter, Chowdhury said.
The government subsidises 25 percent of the cost of a power tiller that a farmer buys under the project on which Prothom Alo ran the report.
It was alleged in the report that eight of the 15 who got the subsidy in Jhenaidah’s Kotchandpur were leaders and activists of Awami League’s youth front Juba League. The others were activists of other associate organisations of the ruling party.
The Prothom Alo further claimed only six of them bought power tillers while the others withdrew the subsidy money showing fake bills and vouchers.
The minister said, “Here, no subsidy was given Upazila-wise. Again, there is no provision to give the subsidy money directly to the farmers, and they were not given money.”
According to her, the selected farmers are given the power tillers officially at the Upazila headquarters after they pay the 75 percent of the price.
The subsidy was given to the approved supplier when the related documents were accepted by the project headquarters, she told Parliament.
Chowdhury said the probe panel visited the area twice after the report.
The members of the committee were her ministry’s administration wing official Abdul Wadud, Planning Commission assistant directors Asaduzzaman Ripon and Bakhtiar Hossain.
Chowdhury said the investigators found the power tillers in the houses or farms of those 15 along with the declaration that they were bought with government help and the name of the project was written.
“All the 15 were found real farmers,” she said, and added that political leanings of six of them could be established.
“But it did not appear in the investigation that their political identities played a role in the selection process,” she said.
“So, the Prothom Alo report which says six bought power tillers and nine withdrew the money showing fake bills-vouchers, is totally baseless,” the minister said.
“Money earmarked for subsidy is never given to individuals, but to companies,” she said.
She also said the newspaper was even got the name of one of the farmers wrong. It was Faruk Mohammad, not Faruk Ahammed.
