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Media called upon to expose corruption

Special Correspondent

A newspaper is a mirror of the society: Shekhawat

JAIPUR: Vice President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat on Sunday called upon the media to contribute to the development of the nation by highlighting the problems and grievances of common men and expose corruption in the society. He said journalism with a mission would help solve the difficulties faced by the poor and deprived sections.

Addressing a function marking the golden jubilee of a local Hindi daily here, Mr. Shekhawat said the newspapers should create awareness about poverty and the rising graph of corruption and help the citizens fight against the scourge by their writings based on in-depth research and analysis.

"A newspaper is a mirror of the society. Its primary responsibility is to work for the public benefit,'' said Mr. Shekhawat. He affirmed that the role of media in speeding up development should be strengthened by improving the credibility of newspapers and associating them directly with the development schemes.

The Vice President said the corruption at all levels was an impediment to development and asked the media to help the Government in exposing it in the public interest. This, he said, would also help in bridging the gap between the rich and poor.

Expressing concern over the widespread poverty in the country, Mr. Shekhawat pointed out that nearly 26 per cent of the population was still living below poverty line. "Despite concerted efforts of the Government, the basic facilities such as education and health care are not available to the people,'' he said, while calling upon the media to apprise the people of the Government's programmes for poverty eradication.

Chief Ministers Vasundhara Raje of Rajasthan and Narendra Modi of Gujarat and the Union Minister of State for Environment and Forests, Namonarain Meena, also attended the function. While Mr. Meena felt the need to give priority to the rural areas while highlighting people's problems, Ms. Raje said the "positive criticism'' by the media often helped the Government in providing right direction to the development schemes.

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