‘Tech makes governments transparent’

AHMEDABAD: At a time when the debate around social media and digital intolerance is heating up, the chief of the IT cell of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Amit Malaviya, said, technology adoption has helped make governments transparent. Malaviya was one of the speakers at the Youth Parliament, organized at Karnavati University, on Saturday.
Malaviya said, “The revolution brought about by social media, internet and technology, has brought more transparency in governance. Government has become transparent, information about government schemes are reaching people in real time. Internet has bridged the information gap and made it more accessible to people.”

Citing the example of the recent hike in minimum support price (MSP) announced by the Union government, Malaviya said, “Such decisions even though taken by the government, are not communicated to people. Citizens never got the benefit of such schemes due to poor awareness. However, through the advent of social media, information reaches people easily and much quickly.”

Political figures present at the discussion also discussed various facets of digital intolerance. “Today, social media is being misused especially when people want to degrade or harm the reputation of a woman or when a political party has to put up their opinion. There is an urgent need to make policies on the use and abuse of social media. Fake and misleading news and opinions are being shared through different social media platforms that harms the reputation of people.”

She added, “We need to respect the democracy – do not silence the dissenting opinions but learn to represent them gracefully with patience. Politics is not about creating enemies, so do not make social media a platform for the same.”