dailyO
Variety

India Today Conclave 2017: Dissent is agreeable, disintegration isn’t: Venkaiah Naidu

Advertisement
DailyBite
DailyBiteMar 17, 2017 | 15:20

India Today Conclave 2017: Dissent is agreeable, disintegration isn’t: Venkaiah Naidu

They are the men in charge of formulating and delivering the “governance agenda” and make “Make in India” succeed. Three Union cabinet ministers in charge of crucial ministries and departments which are directly responsible for the 21st century Indian story presented their vision and big ideas at the India Today Conclave 2017.

The session was titled “The Governance Agenda: How to Make a More Powerful, Digital, Smarter India | Three Ministers, Three Big Ideas”, and was moderated by India Today Editorial Director Raj Chengappa.

Advertisement

The three ministers participating in the discussion were M Venkaiah Naidu, Union minister for urban development and poverty alleviation; Ravi Shankar Prasad, Union minister for law, justice and information technology; and Prakash Javadekar, Union minister of human resource development.

Venkaiah Naidu

Naidu spoke of the “new urban renaissance”, with focus on the basics – sanitation, cleanliness and Swachh Bharat, transportation, and housing. He said these were going to be “people’s movement”, involving public and private participation, as per Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision.

He said: “In 1975, Indira Gandhi was kind enough to put all of us in jail. The good thing that happened that year was the birth of India Today magazine.”

Emphasising the meaning of public participating in the Smart City, he said: “CITY means Civic Infrastructure To You, which most of the cities have been lacking. Our government's aim is to revive that infrastructure.”

Naidu added that a SMART City basically means a liveable city. “PM Modi told me cities should be picked through a competition based on various parameters,” he added.

Advertisement

“My message to all working under me is my cooperation depends on your operations, otherwise there will be suppression,” pleaded Naidu.

He added: “Housing for all by 2022 will be a reality and this all the Smart City idea is all about.” He added: “Housing is the top-most priority for this government. Smart cities will take time, can't happen overnight.”

As he laid out his big ideas on urban development and making world-class cities, Naidu paid a hat-tip to the prime minister, who’s leading the freshly re-energised BJP after a series of electoral wins.

“MODI stands for Making of Developed India,” said Naidu, linking the prime minister with the vision of a new resurgent nation.

However, when Raj Chengappa asked him if freedom of speech is as important, given Naidu’s recent statement to India Today about bringing in a reconfigured sedition law, in which chanting “azadi” slogans would be deemed seditious, the minister said: “Dissent is agreeable, disintegration can’t be tolerated at all.”

Naidu added the caveat: “Except 6-7 universities, all other varsities are doing their job.” But dear minister, without intellectual freedom and the liberty to pose uncomfortable questions, how will the centres of learning become world class and create a better generation of future Indians?

Advertisement

Ravi Shankar Prasad

The Union minister who holds two portfolios, Ravi Shankar Prasad, began on an emphatic note. “India Talent + Information Technology = India Tomorrow; this is what PM Modi had told us two years back,” he said.

“We are involved in transformational India,” he added. “We have come up with e-market, we are aware of cyber theft and are working in this regard,” he said when asked about cyber security. But he also said that people don’t stop using national highways because of a couple of accidents.

“We don't want to miss the digital race," he warned, saying that India had in the past missed out on the industrial revolution and the post-war technology revolution.

The minister reiterated the Modi government’s constant refrain which is Digital India and said: “Our vision is to make India a big telecom hub.”

“In the coming three years, we are going to make six crore people digital-literate,” asserted Prasad.

Prasad mentioned the successes of Aadhaar, which despite courting controversies is gaining praise from the likes of World Bank and other international organisations. Prasad also mentioned that the future is digital and technology has the power to empower.

He added that on the H1-B visa issue, concerns of the Indian side have been conveyed to the highest authorities in the US. “Indian IT firms are assets for the US, we create jobs, don’t steal them,” he added.

On the issue of online porn, he said: “I am very strict as far as child pornography is concerned. We have put them out of circulation. But we are open to consultation as far as the other aspects are concerned.”

Prakash Javadekar

The high point of Prakash Javadekar’s talk was when the Union minister for human resource development announced that the “New Education Policy would be out in next two-three months."

Javadekar said that Modi government is extremely sensitive to the education landscape of the country and is working towards changing it entirely, making it student-friendly, and helping students from poorer background make better use of the system.

“Sabko shiksha, acchi shiksha is our motto,” said Prakash Javadekar.

“Education empowers an individual and most importantly, it takes the country to another level,” he added.

“We are completely changing UGC”, he said, adding that too much autonomy was spoiling the institutions and that there would be regulations wherever necessary.

Also read: Key highlights of Aroon Purie's speech at Conclave 2017

Watch: 

Last updated: March 17, 2017 | 16:05
IN THIS STORY
Please log in
I agree with DailyO's privacy policy