JAIPUR, 15 Sep: Arunachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly Speaker PD Sona on Thursday urged the youths to emulate “the great Swami Vivekananda, the Indian youth icon, for his lifelong selfless service, the high ideals, and his vision for the Indian nation.”
Addressing the Indian Youth Parliament – a large assembly of students and youths from various universities and corporate sectors – here in Rajasthan, Sona said that, “as social human beings, it is everyone’s responsibility and effort to establish a peaceful, just and egalitarian polity.”
“Public discourse should be decent and dignified,” he said, adding that mutual respect, tolerance and dialogue are essential prerequisites for a healthy, functioning democracy.
He urged the young audience to have self-belief and confidence in their abilities, and cautioned that “our constitutional rights and freedoms are not absolute.”
“Freedom of speech is more purposeful if coupled with responsibility,” he said, adding that “awareness of our duties to the nation is as important as our rights.”
The speaker advocated using “modern technology to strengthen the democratic resilience in our society, like the use of information and communication technology.”
Parliament, assemblies and their members are adopting IT for more efficient and effective discharge of their functions, he added.
The event was organised by the Media Foundation to mark the UN-Democracy Day National Session from 15-17 September.
The theme of this year’s conclave was ‘Strengthening democratic resilience in the face of future crisis’. (Speaker’s PR Cell)
