Union Minister Prakash Javadekar. (Express photo by Prem Nath Pandey) Union Minister Prakash Javadekar. (Express photo by Prem Nath Pandey)

STRESSING THE importance of communication, Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting Prakash Javadekar said on Wednesday that not being able to contact anyone or not having any mode of communication is the “worst punishment”.

Speaking at an event to felicitate winners of awards for community radio stations, Javadekar said: “Logon ko mann mein sara pada rahe, aur kisi se kuchh na bolo, isse badi saza kya hoti hai? Kisi se sampark na ho, kisi se baat na kar sakte ho, aur aapke paas communication ka koi saadhan na ho — yeh sabse badi saza ho sakti hai (People keeping everything to themselves, what can be a bigger punishment than not being able to say anything to anyone? Not being able to contact anyone, to talk to anyone, and not having any mode of communication — this can be the worst punishment.)”

Javadekar said this was why community radio was “such an important communication tool”. He said Prime Minister Narendra Modi recognised the “trustworthiness” of radio soon after coming to power in 2014. “Radio jitni takat kisi mein bhi nahin, radio jitni vishwasniyata kisi mein bhi nahi (No other medium has the same power and reliability as radio),” he said.

“When we first met the Prime Minister in 2014, he spoke about about the trustworthiness of radio and how we should encourage it,” he said. That is how Mann ki Baat started, he said, adding that it has now “become desh ki baat, dil ki baat”.

Javadekar also launched a booklet on 75 days of the Modi government’s second term. He listed the scrapping of Jammu and Kashmir’s special status under Article 370, criminalisation of triple talaq, and the number of Bills passed in the first session of Parliament as the government’s achievements.

He said Rajya Sabha, which was considered a “speedbreaker” earlier, had now become a “highway” to pass legislation.

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