New Delhi: The Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) is a reprieve for the persecuted and India has been a place for persecuted communities for centuries, Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar said at NDTV Indian Of The Year awards today.
Delivering the keynote address at the event, he said it is a delightful moment as the flagship awards have been revived. "I am happy it is back on the rails and so is our Bharat," he said. Congratulating the award winners, the Vice-President said, "This award will inspire many to join our marathon march for a Viksit Bharat by 2047."
Speaking on the role of media in shaping public opinion, he referred to debate surrounding the Centre's move to implement CAA four years after it cleared the Parliament. The Opposition has questioned the timing of the move - weeks ahead of the general election.
"A high-decibel debate is taking place on CAA. It is crystal clear that CAA does not deprive any citizen of his/her citizenship. The act is a reprieve to those persecuted, who are in this country for decades. If you go by ethos, India has been a place for those who have been persecuted," he said.
The media, he said, cannot be a platform for the free fall of untenable information. "It damages our democratic fabric, it shatters individual reputations, it shatters institutions. If you start floating info without due diligence, it can wreck our economy, social fabric," he said.
Stressing that there is an urgent need for the media to set up mechanisms to check the spread of misinformation, he said, "Media cannot be a registered, recognised, or unrecognised political party. Some people in the media leveraged decision-making. Media should not be a power-broker. It is accountable."
India is no longer a sleeping giant, but on the cusp of immense possibilities, Mr Dhankhar said. He said the country has seen an unprecedented economic rise over the past few years and has gone from being a member of 'Fragile Five' to among the top 5 economies of the world. "We have had exponential growth, envied by the world. Just imagine where we are," he said.
India, he said, has emerged as a peacemaker for global harmony too.
Pointing at the technological advancements in the country, he said the country is witnessing a well spread-out digital penetration that has transformed lives in Tier II cities too. "Gone are the days when we used to wait for the West to develop tech. India is now the epicentre, harvesting this technology."