Doordarshan to air interviews of MPs of Narendra Modi govt on 1 year anniversary

NEW DELHI: PM Narendra Modi's preference for the public broadcaster is well known. Now Cabinet ministers are following suit. As celebrations for the Modi government's one year anniversary pick up pace, over 20 senior ministers will be giving interviews to Doordarshan to mark the day . The public broadcaster is preparing a one-hour documentary for the anniversary “Ek majboot kadam, naya bhavishya ki ore'', while Padma awardee Prasoon Joshi has been tasked to pen a jingle. This will be supplemented by print and TV advertisements.

Union minister Arun Jaitley on Thursday took a review meeting of all media units on the anniversary celebrations.

Sources said that ministers will also be asked to participate in talkathons and take questions from the public. The interviews and talkathons will focus on the achievements of Modi sarkar.

DD will also be running short 2-5 minute capsules on special programmes with a particular theme around the initiatives like Jan Dhan Yojana, Namami Ganga, Beti Bachao, Beti padhao, Make in India and foreign policy overtures.

The information and broadcasting ministry is coordinating efforts to compile “success stories'' of the ma jor initiatives in the last one year which will be put together in an e-booklet. The idea behind the move is that the human face of the new schemes and its benefits should be at the forefront of the celebration rather than government blowing its own trumpet.

A jingle elaborating on the governmAent schemes has been written by Prasoon Joshi with the tag line “Bharat sar kar ka saal ek, kaam anek.'' The Modi government is currently battling a perception crisis with a successful Congress campaign on inflation and land acquisition ordinance making it appear that the government is pro-corporate.

Sources said that efforts were made to ensure that the government did not appear self-congratulatory in tone.