Yogi appropriating Modi's flagship themes

Espouses social media and cashless economy, adopts catchphrase 'Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas'

The month-old Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh is not only assiduously changing the work culture among the state policymakers and bureaucrats, but it has also started replicating and embracing the flagships themes of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
 
These themes, which include cashless economy, cleanliness, modern technology, and social media tools, have been espoused by Modi, who is also their biggest icon in the country.
 
Modi, who rubs shoulders with the top political leaders in the world and has an expansive social media footprint, has always supported leveraging social media platforms to reach out to the people and disseminate information.

 

Taking a cue from Modi, Yogi has now asked the UP information department to cultivate a robust system for using social and new media for propagating the state government policies, programmes and schemes. He said the department should draft an action plan to popularise government’s schemes through Facebook, Twitter and other platforms.
 
Besides, Yogi has appropriated Modi’s catchphrase of ‘Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas’ as the driving force of his state government as well. He noted the UP information department had the onerous task of contributing towards making UP as the most progressive state in the country through speedier and effective dissemination of information. He also spoke of promoting cashless economy and cleanliness drives.

 
Last night, the state information department gave a presentation to Yogi and other cabinet ministers as part of the series of similar presentations being made by other departments as a pre-budget exercise underway over the last few weeks. The next state assembly session has been convened from May 15 and would last a week.
 
Yogi has also directed the information department to prepare a comprehensive work plan to apprise people to the works and life of BJP ideologue Deendayal Upadhyay in his birth centenary year. The programmes being undertaken by the central and state governments on this occasion would be propagated.

 
However, while social media would now be used liberally by different departments to create awareness about their programmes and policies, the government and police officials had earlier been advised to use social media with caution, especially when expressing their personal opinion over controversial and sensitive issues. Even the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ministers and leaders had been advised to exercise restraint lest they embarrass the party and government.
 
Last month, 2000 batch UP cadre Indian Police Service (IPS) officer Himanshu Kumar, was suspended for his comments on Twitter allegedly criticising the Yogi government over purported transfer policy. The tweets were later, however, deleted.

 
Then UP Director General of Police (DGP) Javeed Ahmad had issued an advisory to cops to detest from commenting over social media on issues of politics, religion, government, gender, caste etc. The cops had also been barred from commenting on fellow officers and personnel over the social media, besides sharing any such information which was vested with them by virtue of their police service.