Venkaiah Naidu emphasizes on constant dialogue between people and governments in his last speech as Vice President of India
Policymaking and implementation should be a
two way process with people’s participation – Vice President
Success of any reform depends on the cooperation from the people
VP cautions against misuse of social media by anti-social elements
Freebie culture deteriorating the financial health of many states – Vice
President
Vice President interacts with the Indian Information Service (IIS) officers of
batches 2018 & 2019
VP asks IIS officers to bring forth developmental stories from across the
nation in media
Key to my success lies in meeting people and learning from them
The Vice
President, M Venkaiah Naidu today 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
2018 and 2019 batches who came to call on him at Uprashtrapati Nivas today, 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 behavioral change campaign
undertaken as part of the Swachh Bharat Mission, Naidu said that the success of
any reform depends on the cooperation from the people. He further said that
people will 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, and at the same time, 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 Internet and social media expansion, 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 is
crucial for survival of India’s democratic ethos,” he stressed.
The Vice President asked the young officers to bring
forth many developmental stories from across the nation. “You as government
communicators should also make all efforts to ensure that the good work being
done by various ministries and departments is covered adequately by the media,”
he told them. Terming information & psychological warfare as an important
dimension of modern day wars, Naidu advised the IIS officers to develop
expertise in these emerging and strategic areas.
Referring to the increasing frequency of extreme climatic
events and erratic weather patterns across the globe, the Vice President asked
the young officers to run a mass media campaign for nature conservation and
environmental protection. “If you love nature, nature will protect you,” he
told them.
Cautioning against the populist measures to garner votes
by various political parties, Naidu said
that the freebie culture has led to deteriorating financial health of many
states. “Government should definitely support the poor and needy, but at the
same time should prioritize health, education and infrastructure development,”
he said.
In his address, his last as the Vice President of India,
Naidu said that “the key to my rise from an ordinary farmer’s son to the second
highest constitutional post in the country lies in sheer hard work, single
minded devotion and constant travel and interaction with the people in every
part of the country.” I have learned a lot by meeting and talking to the
people, he said.
Congratulating the officer trainees for joining the
prestigious Civil Services, he exhorted them to work for transforming the lives
of people in the country. It may be noted that the Indian Information Service
(IIS) is a Central Group ‘A’ Service whose members work as the media managers
of the Government of India. The IIS officers, in their various capacities, act
as a vital communication link between the Government and the people by way of
disseminating information and communicating various Government policies and
schemes to the public at large.
Prof Sanjay Dwivedi, Director General, IIMC, Ashish Goel,
ADG, IIMC, Dr Rinku Pegu, Associate Professor IIMC & Training Coordinator
for IIS officers, officers of Indian Information Service batches of 2018 &
2019 were present during the interaction. Prof Sanjay Dwivedi also presented
his book titled, “Bharat Bodh ka Naya Samay” to the Vice President on this
occasion.