Politics should not shackle liberty: Governor Ganeshi Lal

BHUBANESWAR: Governor Ganeshi Lal on Saturday called for a society free from discrimination and asserted absolute supremacy of liberty of every individual in every sphere.

Inaugurating the seventh edition of the Odisha Literary Festival organised by The New Indian Express here, Lal said, “Liberty should not be scarified at the altar of the political whims of conjecture. Liberty is after all hammered out on the the anvil of dissent, debate  and discussion. There should not be any interference as far as worship, belief and faith is concerned. Liberty of questioning and liberty of expressing oneself should not be at all blocked.”

The Governor called for efforts to establish a society which is free from discrimination and stated that the newspapers can play a  greater role in shaping the society by ensuring justice for all. “The media has the power to do the impossible. It has the power to shape world opinion against serious problems like expansionism, global warming and global terrorism,” he said. Expressing concern over expansionism, he said the world is on the verge of disintegration due to competition among nations to gather nuclear stockpiles.

“There is a stockpile of nuclear weapons and it is the battle of nations waiting in wings. We are on the verge of demolition. For the first time in the history, at least 30 scientists and several Nobel laureates appealed to world leaders to save this pretty planet from  the possibility of a nuclear war.”

Taking a dig at nations which are competing with one another to establish its space supremacy over Mars, the Governor said the competition should rather be on how to bring improvement in the lives of vast majority of people who are living with indignity.

Calling for a universal code of conduct for journalism, the Governor said these serious threats confronting the world could be defeated only if the global media is united. Editorial Director of The New Indian Express Prabhu Chawla said the 7th edition of the OLF has been possible due to unflinching support of the people of the State. Deputy Resident Editor of the TNIE, Bhubaneswar Siba Mohanty introduced the guests.