Rama Krishna Sangem
Former Vice-President of India M Venkaiah Naidu is of the view that journalists should always be straight, neither Left or Right. He means, media persons should not be influenced by their ideological leanings, but be guided by conveying facts as they are to the readers. Naidu who began as activist of then Jana Sangh held many key positions including the national president of BJP and union minister.
Venkaiah was speaking after unveiling a book of senior journalist Aruna Ravikumar, titled “There I Was – Media Musings” at FTCCI auditorium in Hyderabad on February 27, Tuesday. The former VP said that he in his long political life and came across different kinds of journalists too. “Some journalists particularly those who claim to be from JNU, Delhi, won’t allow political leaders from addressing press conferences,” he said, in a lighter vein.
Venkaiah expressed concern over falling standards in today’s journalism, due to various factors. “All sorts of vested interests have been influencing media persons too, like all others from other fields. For that matter, the values in today’s politics too have fallen drastically,” he said. He urged people to ensure that Indian languages are preserved and promoted at all levels. “Campaigning for promotion of Mother’s Tongue is my passion currently,” he said.
Venkaiah as well as other speakers at the function – DRDO director Dr Satish Reddy and Telangana RTC vice-chairman and managing director VC Sajjanar, IPS – complimented Aruna Ravikumar for authoring the book. Aruna, in this book shared her media experiences and stories she covered through her long journey. Aruna Ravikumar and Ravikumar, on the occasion felicitated Venkaiah Naidu and other guests.
