VP emphasizes the need for constant dialogue between the people and the governments
Today, the Vice President, Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu emphasised the need for constant dialogue between the people and the governments for citizen-centric and responsive governance. He said that policymaking and implementation should be a two-way process with people’s participation at every stage.
Addressing the Indian Information Service officers of the 2018 and 2019 batches who came to call on him at Upa-Rashtrapati Nivas today, Shri Naidu highlighted the role of communication in bridging the divide between the governments and citizens. “In a democracy, people need to be empowered through timely information on government’s policies and initiatives in their mother tongues. On the other hand, governments also need to be apprised of people’s expectations and aspirations in an objective and timely manner,” he said.
Referring to the mass behavioural change campaign undertaken as part of the Swachh Bharat Mission, Shri Naidu said that the success of any reform depends on cooperation from the people. He further said that people would understand and support an initiative better when they have been involved in its planning and implementation strategy from the beginning.
Describing India as the largest Parliamentary democracy in the world, he said that the purpose of any reform process should be to make people’s life happy and prosperous. “Therefore, the focus of all government policy measures should be on bringing lasting happiness to people’s lives,” he told the officers. At the same time, he underscored the need to bear with “temporary pain for long-term gain”.
Mentioning that the ICT revolution and spread of the internet have fundamentally changed the way we consume news, he cautioned that this ‘ease of information’ comes with its associated risks. “Misinformation, disinformation and fake news have emerged as new challenges which need to be promptly tackled by the government communicators round the clock,” he added. The Vice President also cautioned against the misuse of social media by certain anti-social elements, the Vice President called for curbing such tendencies at the earliest.
Drawing attention to the growing trend of ‘instant journalism’ triggered by the emergence of the Internet and social media expansion, Shri Naidu expressed concerns about the erosion of journalistic norms and ethos due to this. He emphasized the importance of neutrality and objectivity in media reporting and said that news should not be mixed with views. “Media is the fourth pillar of democracy, and its neutrality, objectivity and fairness are crucial for the survival of India’s democratic ethos,” he stressed.
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