Friday, March 01, 2013
Sunday, February 24, 2013
Tweet time
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By Kumar Anshuman
Story Dated: Friday, February 22, 2013 17:44 hrs IST
The live Twitter conference scheduled for half an hour on February 8 went on for more than an hour, and received about 200 questions on different aspects of the community radio programme, the theme of the conference. Though the I&B secretary could immediately respond to only 45 of them, the triumphant smiles on the faces of the officials showed that the experiment was a success.
“The ministry will continue to do such exercises on other issues in the near future,” said a delighted Uday Kumar Varma, I&B secretary. “The conference had provided the ministry the medium to understand the perception of the people in the social media space.”
The idea of using social media to connect to people had been in discussion ever since Manish Tewari took charge of the ministry. The minister is an active tweeter. Though National Innovation Council chairman Sam Pitroda had earlier organised a Twitter conference, it elicited only a moderate response.
The I&B ministry formed a social media cell last September with the intention of promoting and popularising the good work of the ministry and the government. It started with a YouTube channel, INBMINISTRY. In collaboration with Doordarshan, the channel shows ten-minute news bulletins twice a day. Some rare documentaries and famous speeches have also been posted on the channel. The ministry has a blog and a Facebook account in addition to the Twitter handle. Four officers in the social media cell work in rotation to maintain the accounts.
Twitter was chosen for the interaction because it was the only medium where the audience can interact in a live conference-like environment. Many interesting questions and suggestions came up during the discussion, like introducing community radio at school and using it in Naxal-affected areas. Someone even wanted to know about making it a viable business option.
The I&B ministry wants to take it to the next level and has started a digital volunteer programme called My India Initiative. It aims at disseminating the development messages across social media platforms by registering citizens as volunteers. “This initiative is a milestone as it would enable the government to disseminate information to citizens, especially the youth of the country,” said Tewari. “It is a programme rooted in the principles of participative governance leading to real time engagement through social media tools.”
Sunday, February 10, 2013
BJP and RSS organising terror camps: Shinde
- By Kumar Anshuman
Story Dated: Monday, January 21, 2013 11:25 hrs IST
Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde made serious allegations against the BJP and the RSS at the AICC meeting in Jaipur, accusing them of organising training camps to promote Hindu terror.
“We are meeting here and an investigation report has come that says BJP and RSS are organising training camps to promote Hindu terror,” said Shinde. “The Mecca Masjid, Samjhauta Express blasts and Malegaon blasts are examples. There have been instances when they have planted bombs and blamed the minority community for it.” Shinde repeated the statement later in his speech, urging people to stay alert to the Hindu terror unleashed by the BJP and the RSS.
BJP has condemned his speech in strong words. The party immediately organised a press conference to respond to his statement. “A home minister can’t make a comment that disturbs the peace of the country,” said BJP spokesperson Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi. “Terrorists are infiltrating our country, killing our soldiers and our government is welcoming them with roses,” Naqvi said. The BJP termed it as a statement encouraging terror outfits. In a warning tone, Naqvi sought an apology from the Congress top brass. “We demand Sonia Gandhi to apologise to the party and nation. Otherwise they will face grave consequences. They have no credibility and it has been proven once again.”
The party also alleged that by making this statement, the Congress has encouraged terrorist outfits.
However, after the hue and cry, Shinde denied part of his statement. “I was talking about saffron terror, which is not a new thing. It is all in the newspapers and everywhere and I have just said that,” he said.
- By Kumar Anshuman
Story Dated: Monday, January 21, 2013 11:25 hrs IST
Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde made serious allegations against the BJP and the RSS at the AICC meeting in Jaipur, accusing them of organising training camps to promote Hindu terror.
“We are meeting here and an investigation report has come that says BJP and RSS are organising training camps to promote Hindu terror,” said Shinde. “The Mecca Masjid, Samjhauta Express blasts and Malegaon blasts are examples. There have been instances when they have planted bombs and blamed the minority community for it.” Shinde repeated the statement later in his speech, urging people to stay alert to the Hindu terror unleashed by the BJP and the RSS.
BJP has condemned his speech in strong words. The party immediately organised a press conference to respond to his statement. “A home minister can’t make a comment that disturbs the peace of the country,” said BJP spokesperson Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi. “Terrorists are infiltrating our country, killing our soldiers and our government is welcoming them with roses,” Naqvi said. The BJP termed it as a statement encouraging terror outfits. In a warning tone, Naqvi sought an apology from the Congress top brass. “We demand Sonia Gandhi to apologise to the party and nation. Otherwise they will face grave consequences. They have no credibility and it has been proven once again.”
The party also alleged that by making this statement, the Congress has encouraged terrorist outfits.
However, after the hue and cry, Shinde denied part of his statement. “I was talking about saffron terror, which is not a new thing. It is all in the newspapers and everywhere and I have just said that,” he said.
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