Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Saturday expressed his pain over the failure of some sections to realise the soothing impact of steps like CAA guided by the values of secularism, equality, and justice enshrined in our constitution.

“It is unfortunate that some failed to recognise the historical context and soothing impact from human rights perspectives to persecuted minorities in neighbourhood,” he said.

VP Dhankhar maintained that “CAA does not deprive any Indian citizen of his or her citizenship” but is aimed at providing relief to persecuted religious minorities in neighbourhood without infringing upon the rights of any existing citizens.

Addressing the gathering at the ‘NDTV India of the Year Awards 2023-2024’, he recognized the role of media as fourth pillar of democracy and its influence over social discourse and stressed upon the need for an independent and objective media.

“Media should be an agent to convey right perspectives to understand India rather than be a prey to orchestrated narratives seeking to taint and tarnish our image”, he added.

Touching upon the issues of media credibility and self regulation, VP Dhankhar emphasised that media credibility “lies solely within its own control, by being objective and not getting involved in politics.” Media will emerge the nation’s conscience keeper if it takes care of its conscience, he added.

Cautioning against the politicization of media, VP reflected, “media can not be a registered recognized or unrecognized political party” cautioning that media should take all precautions so as not to become a battleground for partisan politics.

Referring to the challenges of misinformation and fake news, Dhankhar underlined the responsibility of media to be a watchdog and curb such misinformation. “Informed public is spinal strength of democracy”, he added.