Development and good governance should go hand in hand: Venkaiah Naidu
Hyderabad: Mr M. Venkaiah Naidu, who was allotted the high-profile information and broadcasting ministry in Tuesday’s reshufffle of the Union Cabinet, said that his primary task was to disseminate information about the government’s developmental programmes to the people.
He said, “Prime Minister Narender Modi has the right to choose his team. For the past two years, he had a good understanding about his colleagues. He took experience, performance, needs and the challenges ahead into consideration and selected competent people and gave them suitable portfolios.”’ Mr Naidu said development and good governance should go hand in hand.
Will fulfil aspirations: Venkaiah on new post
“I think I was given this responsibility. Earlier I worked as minister for parliamentary affairs. I am satisfied with my performance. I seek the cooperation of both government and private enterprises in this objective,” he said.
Mr Naidu took charge of the new portfolio, which is in addition to his urban development, housing and urban poverty alleviation portfolio, at Shastri Bhavan in New Delhi on Wednesday.
To a question, he said he was satisfied with inclusions and changes in the ministries. “There is a mix of experience, dynamism, patience and commitment. This change will further accelerate the development process. Normally, when choosing Union ministers, region, social and other aspects are taken into consideration in a democratic country like ours.”
Mr Naidu said the Prime Minister had given him the I&B to take the fruits of development and take information to the people. “This is my primary task and I will interact with everyone to achieve this goal,” he added.
He has convened a meeting of departmental heads under the I&B ministry on Friday to initiate reforms where needed. “My predecessor (Arun Jaitley) was an experienced person. I will continue the legacy,” he said.
“Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, we have given a thrust to development and brought in reforms. The economy is vibrant and we have provided good governance. The Prime Minister took all sections along with him,” he said, adding, “This initiative is giving good results. People should know what is happening in the government. This is my top priority.”
