While a wave of appreciation and good wishes poured in under a photo on social media, showing a glimpse of a birthday celebration involving Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s ICT Affairs Adviser Sajeeb Wazed Joy and young members of his family with the premier, a barrage of vitriolic and misogynistic remarks from pro-radical accounts, targeting PM’s family members, have been denounced by netizens.
Marking his mother’s birthday, Sajeeb Wazed recently posted a photo of the PM with family members on his verified Facebook page with the caption: “Ma's birthday dinner with the family…”
Over the span of seven days, the photo has been shared over 13,600 times, drawing over 200,000 reactions and over 45,000 comments.
Netizens also criticized rumours involving Sajeeb Wazed such as “Sajeeb Wazed not allowed to enter US,” or “Sajeeb Wazed living in Oman,” or “Sajeeb Wazed’s rift with mother” in recent weeks since the US announcement of visa restrictions.
Pointing to one such speculation — “Is the US sending back the prime minister’s son?” — by BNP International Affairs Secretary Barrister Rumeen Farhana, Bangladesh Awami League, from its verified Facebook page, published a post containing a snap of a recent video featuring the BNP leader, calling it a “rumour”.
Comments from netizens included “with one photo, hundreds of such rumours are laid to rest,” and “BNP leaders and paid agents on social media wasted months to establish that Sajeeb Wazed is unable to stay in the US, but this photo clearly proves otherwise.”
A Harvard alumnus, Sajeeb Wazed, has been credited as the “architect of Digital Bangladesh,” a key electoral pledge by Awami League in 2008 that revolved around transforming the digital landscape of the country.
