Serious users
of social media twitter in particular will & are able to gather news
stories from the tweets posted by other, we can get all the genres from
politics to entertainment, domestic & international news.
What amazes
me is the two parallel strains that I have noticed in the past couple of days
1) which is talking about the potency & virilite(y) of social media. This is
one subject that I had addressed way back on 31st Dec2010 social
Media a formidable foe for Main stream Media, which was way ahead of the
curve.It was during this time when I had realized and stated true watchdog of
democracy in India
We have
often heard of complaints about anonymous users. This is as fake as the self
created celebrities. On twitter we have shredded many a celebrity to such fine
pieces that not even the best in the trade can never reconstruct their
reputation. Social Media is not for drifters or attaining cult status. You can
be anonymous but character cant remain anonymous, your tweets expose you in no
time.. will read out the tweets posted
which clearly establish this assertion. Tweeple are perceptive with very sharp
analytical abilities, if they remain silent on certain issues, its bcoz hard
evidence is not in their possession, speaking without proof is rumor mongering
& that impacts our credibility, we are fully aware who has been drawing
power from whom, who plugs in with whom, its only a matter of time when hard
evidence is in our possession & we shall place all facts in public domain.
Social
Media is here to stay, it deepens democracy, empowers citizen to take
ownship of their govt & decisions. this being the penultimate livebeam for this month & year makes it important that nothing is left to anyones imagination. Establish beyond doubt,relevance of "NEWS ON SOCIAL MEDIA"
See more at:
http://indianexpress.com/article/blogs/time-to-redefine-political-engagement-stop-potshots-talk-potholes/#comments
Has our
generation lost the conviction to question what we stand for anymore? Are we
wasting precious time on myopic dramas in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha?
Instead of
the big political challenges, today’s politicians usually focus on what seem
largely irrelevant to a common citizen. With frequent disruptions and forced
adjournments of Parliament by the Opposition becoming the order of the day, the
public exchequer is likely to lose crores of rupees in this on-going session.
Instead of
wasting time and energy in cheap drama, and walks to courts which are flashed
on TV like reality shows, the government should focus on issues that are
literally life-and-death for citizens. It is time to stop the drama and react
to ‘the issues which affect people’s lives’.
Today, a
12-year-old child died after he fell into an unmarked open sewer pit near a bus
depot at New Delhi ’s Millennium Park New Delhi
However, no
department has owned up to commissioning the work on the sewers which were left
open inside a public park!
And this is
not a phenomenon restricted to Delhi SRS Circle Tumkur Road OTC Road
The figures
are shocking to say the least.
Over 11,000
people killed by potholes and speed breakers last year alone. At least one case
is reported every day.
States with
a high number of fatalities on these counts included Madhya Pradesh, Bihar,
Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and West Bengal . Maharashtra registered 368 deaths in crashes due to
potholes, humps and speed breakers while another 224 persons died in crashes on
roads under repair or under construction.
According
to the Road Accident Report (2014) published by the road transport and highways
ministry, while 4,726 lives were lost in crashes due to humps, 6,672 people
died in accidents caused due to potholes and speed breakers.
UP had the
largest share with 4,455 lives lost in such accidents. In MP, 915 people died
in crashes caused due to bad road conditions and in Bihar ,
the fatalities stood at 867.
There is
also the example of Jyoti’s parents, who had to scream themselves hoarse for
their request to consider the Juvenile Justice Bill in the house. Suddenly, the
narcolepsy of the past three years is being cured and everyone is in a dead
hurry to debate the topic. Another drama, considering both parties had earlier
favoured sending the bill to a parliamentary committee for further scrutiny.
Major Bills
are in cold storage as a result of the logjam. Many of the pending Bills deal
with the daily lives of the common people. We the public want to debate them.
Legislation time has been lost because of disruptions ending up hurting the
taxpayer, having stalled the legislative business of the House.
The health
of democracy of any nation is largely dependent on a strong and functional
legislature. Mass campaign against disruptions of Parliament should be launched
to develop public resistance against bad governance and to provoke public
support in favour of proper functioning of the House. Politicians need to shun
lethargy and reset their moral compass. Their lethargy for change, whether it
is in the running of Parliament, implementation of schemes or adherence to
values need immediate and serious mending and only good governance can provide
an answer to the tragedies the common citizens’ face.
We are
tired of the Kejriwal daily soap, the Gandhis’ walkathon, the Kirti Azad
hackathon, and the Jaitley jackathon. It is people like us who suffer most from
such disruptions. Not only do we have to worry about things not getting done,
but we are also paying for those things to not get done.
Just like a
good Taliban, a functioning Parliament seems an oxymoron at the moment.
Professor
Dr Ushy Mohan Das is a doctor by profession and an academic by passion. An avid
writer, a transformation coach and a crusader, she believes the common man must
speak up for what is right.
