Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur on Saturday urged the media fraternity in the country to be vigilant and avoid giving space to narratives that threaten the integrity of the country. He said that baseless and irrational opinion, freely given from within or from abroad, cannot destroy the democratic nature of the country.
“I urge the media fraternity to be vigilant and desist from giving space to such voices and narratives, knowingly or unknowingly, which have the potential to jeopardize the integrity of India,” he added. Thakur was speaking while attending the closing ceremony of the centenary celebrations of noted Malayalam daily “Mathrubhoomi” as the chief guest.
He said that there is a saying that facts are holy and opinion is free. Thakur said, “I want to emphasize here that the democratic nature of our great nation will always remain a fact, no matter how many baseless and illogical opinions are freely given from home or abroad.” Mechanism to counter such fake narratives and anti-India biases.
Noting that the advent of new technologies presents a unique opportunity to break down barriers, the minister said, “however there is a growing threat of digital colonialism on platforms run by offshore coded algorithms behind walls of transparency.”
“We must be careful not to accept anything and everything in the name of innovation and modernity. Foreign publications, companies and organizations must identify and weed out distorted facts with inherent anti-India biases. Indian media here One who understands the ground reality. has to play an important role”, Thakur said.
His remarks came against the backdrop of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s statement in London that democracy in the country was under “brutal attack” apart from a controversial documentary on the Gujarat riots by the BBC. Thakur said that nowadays the word ‘democracy’ is often heard in public discourse; Those constantly trying to undermine democracy and its institutions in our country have turned a great principle of governance into a fashion statement. The perpetrators of violence are now pretending to be victims, he said in an apparent dig at the Congress
“We must remember that unlike in the West, democracy is not an artificial imposition on India – it is an integral and indestructible part of our civilizational history. Now known. As Kerala. Democracy was there then, is there now and will be there in future.”
In an indirect attack on Rahul Gandhi, he said, “But it is surprising that a ‘bhakt’ wearing a white T-shirt is trying to project himself as a ‘savior’ of democracy.”
Thakur also criticized the Congress for dismissing the Leftist government of Kerala in 1959. India dismissed the leftist government. Congress escaped. This was the first blatant misuse of the Constitution”, the minister said.
Thakur also alleged that subsequently, the Congress government ‘misused’ Article 356 to dismiss 93 state governments, dealt a severe blow to democracy in India, destroyed political diversity and made political differences a punishable offence. Gave. Noting that the print media, especially newspapers, play an important role in maintaining the credibility of news, he said that since colonial times it had the power to shape public opinion and continues to do so.
Of the many threads that unite the diverse people of this great nation, from Kerala to Kashmir, perhaps the strongest is their belief that India is their motherland – their Karmabhoomi and Punyabhoomi. They said. “The newspaper (Motherland) founded by Keshav Menon is a tribute to this unwavering belief. Unfortunately, and I mean it literally, there are some who do not believe so. For them, India is not their motherland. They have a fatherland5 Which is a foreign country from where they get their foreign ideology,” he said.
“Then there are those who misrepresent the Constitution and have no knowledge of the Constituent Assembly debates, to describe our nation only as a federation of states. This shapes their narrow, spiteful politics , which is in many ways different from the core identity of India”, he said. Referring to the recent incidents of attacks on offices and studios of news organizations “just because they do not follow decorum” and journalists “for disputing a certain version of news”, the minister said such Humiliating attacks undermine democracy and its institutions. , He also referred to the alleged political attacks on RSS workers in Kerala.
“It is equally disgraceful and unacceptable,5 the continued attacks on those who hold a different political point of view and have strong feelings for their motherland in Kerala. The brutal attempt to silence them has failed. I pay my humble tributes to those who stood up for their religion and their only fault was that they were associated with RSS. Attacks on them weaken democracy; their courage, tolerance and perseverance strengthens democracy”, Thakur he said.
Thakur in his speech also recalled the contribution of late MP Virendra Kumar, who oversaw the rapid development of the motherland. The event was inaugurated by Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, and was attended by several dignitaries including State Leader of Opposition VD Satheesan, Law Minister P Rajeev and Revenue Minister P Rajan. MV Shreyamskumar, Managing Director, Mathrubhumi presided over the function.
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