Kurnool, May 19: BJP State president PVN Madhav on Tuesday said party workers remained the principal strength behind the Bharatiya Janata Party’s organisational expansion and called upon cadre to work with the spirit of “nation first, politics later.”

Participating in the district-level training camp organised under the Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya Prashikshan Maha Abhiyan in Kurnool, Mr. Madhav addressed party workers on ideological orientation, organisational responsibilities, leadership development and public outreach.

He said the BJP recognised and encouraged every worker who served the party with commitment and selflessness. Party cadre, he observed, were the true ambassadors responsible for taking the party’s ideology and welfare initiatives to the people.

Mr. Madhav underlined the need for continuous training to strengthen leadership qualities, social awareness and responsiveness to public issues among party workers. He urged cadre to uphold values such as patriotism, discipline, dedication to society and service-mindedness while remaining closely connected with people at the grassroots level.

Stressing the growing influence of social media in shaping public opinion, he advised workers to remain vigilant against misinformation and effectively counter false propaganda with facts. He also called upon party cadre to maintain cordial relations with the public and safeguard the party’s credibility through responsible conduct.

Referring to national issues, Mr. Madhav said the country was passing through a phase that required citizens to remain alert on matters concerning national security, democratic values and social harmony. He pointed to global geopolitical developments and the spread of misinformation on digital platforms as areas of concern.

He said the Union government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi was taking firm measures to strengthen national security, economic stability and internal governance. Citizens, irrespective of political affiliations, should work collectively for the protection of the Constitution and national integrity, he said.

Mr. Madhav also urged youth not to rely on unverified information circulating on social media platforms and instead trust official sources of information. He criticised certain Opposition parties for allegedly placing political interests above national priorities.

Calling for responsible use of resources, he said people should reduce unnecessary fuel consumption and limit avoidable foreign travel, while drawing inspiration from what he described as the Prime Minister’s own efforts towards austerity.

He concluded by urging citizens to unite with the spirit of “nation before politics” for the country’s development and security.

AMARAVATI, May 3: BJP State president PVN Madhav on Sunday described press freedom as a vital pillar of democratic governance, asserting that society can progress meaningfully only when the freedom to speak truth without fear is upheld.

In a statement issued on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day, Mr. Madhav said the media bears a cardinal responsibility to bring to light the injustices, corruption, and inequalities prevalent in society, and commended journalists who discharge that responsibility with commitment and integrity.

He noted that the press plays an indispensable role as a bridge between the people and the government, carrying public grievances to the attention of those in authority.

Fact-checking and ethical values more critical than ever

Acknowledging the accelerated pace of information in the digital age, Mr. Madhav cautioned that the need for fact verification, ethical standards, and accountable journalism has grown correspondingly greater. He warned that the spread of misinformation and rumour poses a serious threat to social fabric, and emphasised that retaining public trust is the foremost duty of the media.

Reaffirming the government's commitment to an enabling environment for the press, Mr. Madhav said protecting press freedom is a collective responsibility and that journalists must be able to practise their profession without intimidation or coercion. He expressed the view that a stronger press translates directly into a stronger democracy.

Extending greetings to journalists working with integrity and courage, Mr. Madhav urged the media to advance with greater responsibility in the service of public good.

BJP Trains Cadre on Digital Outreach: Social Media is Party's Most Powerful Weapon, Says Velagaleti Gangadhar

GUNTUR — In a sign of the times, the Bharatiya Janata Party is no longer leaving its digital strategy to chance. At a structured training programme held at BH College in the Brodipet area of Guntur's Western Constituency Third Mandal on Saturday, BJP workers gathered to learn one of modern politics' most essential skills — how to fight and win the battle for public opinion on social media.

The awareness programme on social media usage was organised as part of a broader training session conducted under the leadership of Prashikshan Varg Pramukh Palapati Ravi Kumar — and it drew an engaged and enthusiastic turnout of party workers eager to sharpen their digital communication skills ahead of future electoral battles.

Social Media: The New Battlefield

The session's chief speaker was Velagaleti Gangadhar — BJP State Media Co-Convener and Director of the Andhra Pradesh Brahmana Welfare Corporation — a man who clearly knows his subject and delivered it with conviction.

In the digital age, Gangadhar told the assembled workers, social media is not a luxury or an afterthought. It is the most powerful tool available for direct, real-time communication with the public — and no political worker worth their salt can afford to ignore it.

"In the current digital era, social media is the most powerful instrument for connecting directly with the people," Gangadhar said. "Platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, when used effectively, can carry the party's ideology, the central government's development programmes, and welfare schemes to citizens rapidly and at scale."

It was a message delivered not just as inspiration but as instruction — practical, specific, and grounded in the realities of contemporary political communication.

NaMo App and Saral App: Every Worker Must Be On Board

Gangadhar went beyond general principles, urging every BJP worker present to actively use two specific digital platforms — the NaMo App and the Saral App — as essential tools of party organisation and communication.

These platforms, he explained, are not merely symbolic gestures toward digital modernity. They are functional tools through which party programmes can be coordinated, membership details managed, and real-time information shared efficiently across the party's vast organisational network.

"Every worker must use the NaMo App and the Saral App," Gangadhar said firmly. "Through these platforms, party activities, membership information, and organisational data can be managed effectively and efficiently."

The directive reflects a broader BJP strategy of building a digitally connected party structure — one where information flows quickly from the national leadership down to the booth level, and where every worker is a node in a coordinated communication network.

Three Responsibilities of Every Digital Worker

Gangadhar distilled the responsibilities of BJP workers in the digital space into three clear and actionable duties — a framework that gave the training session practical shape.

First, workers must ensure that accurate and truthful information about the party and the government reaches the public through social media channels. In an environment flooded with competing narratives, getting the correct facts out quickly is itself a form of political action.

Second, workers must actively counter false propaganda — identifying and responding to misinformation about the party, its leadership, and the central government's policies and programmes. In the digital age, silence in the face of falsehood is not neutrality. It is surrender.

Third, and perhaps most importantly, workers must use social media to build and deepen direct relationships with citizens — engaging genuinely, responding to concerns, and making the party accessible and human at the community level.

"It is the responsibility of every party worker to deliver true information to the people through social media, counter false propaganda, and strengthen direct relationships with citizens," Gangadhar said.

Booth-Level Digital Communication

The session closed with a rallying call that captured the strategic ambition behind the entire training exercise.

Gangadhar urged every worker to use social media responsibly — and to work toward strengthening digital communication at the booth level. In BJP's organisational philosophy, the booth is the fundamental unit of political action. A party that wins the digital battle at the booth level wins elections.

The directive to extend digital capability all the way down to the booth reflects the party's recognition that the social media revolution is not just a national phenomenon. It plays out in every neighbourhood, every community, and every local conversation — and a party that is not present and active at that level will lose the information battle where it matters most.

Distinguished Presence

The training programme brought together a cross-section of BJP's organisational leadership in Guntur. Third Mandal President Behara Gayatri, BJP State Publicity and Literature Convener Palapati Ravi Kumar, Mahila Morcha State Secretary Hari Pavani, Mahila Morcha District Treasurer Dr. Sravanthi Emani Madhava Reddy, Nagasai, Jandhyala Pavan Kumar, Yashwant Lakara, Bala Rangaiah, Stalin, and a range of mandal leaders and party workers were present — reflecting the broad organisational commitment behind the initiative.

The Bigger Picture

Saturday's training programme in Guntur is part of a larger, deliberate BJP strategy to build a digitally empowered grassroots organisation capable of carrying the party's message directly to voters — bypassing traditional media and engaging citizens on the platforms where they already spend their time.

As India's political landscape grows increasingly digital, parties that invest in training their workers to communicate effectively online will hold a decisive advantage. Saturday's session in Brodipet was a small but significant step in that direction — one booth, one mandal, one trained worker at a time.

NEW DELHI — As the conflict in West Asia continues to send shockwaves across global markets and supply chains, India's top leadership swung into action on Friday, convening the first meeting of a specially constituted Informal Group of Ministers to assess the crisis and chart a coordinated national response.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh chaired the high-powered gathering at Kartavya Bhawan-2 in New Delhi on March 28, 2026 — bringing together some of the most powerful cabinet ministers in the Modi government around a single urgent agenda: protecting India and its people from the far-reaching consequences of a conflict unfolding thousands of kilometres away.

A Cabinet of Heavy Hitters

The composition of the Informal Group of Ministers — known as the IGoM — left no doubt about the seriousness with which the government is treating the West Asia situation.

Seated around the table were Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, Power Minister Manohar Lal, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju, Chemicals and Fertilizers Minister Jagat Prakash Nadda, Consumer Affairs Minister Prahlad Joshi, Civil Aviation Minister Kinjarapu Rammohan Naidu, and Science and Technology Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh.

It was a gathering that covered virtually every sector of the Indian economy likely to feel the impact of the West Asia conflict — from fuel and energy to food supply, aviation, and industrial chemicals. The message was clear: this government is treating the crisis as a whole-of-government challenge, not a problem to be managed by any single ministry.

Rajnath Singh Sets the Tone

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh used his opening address to set a tone of calm urgency — acknowledging the seriousness of the situation while projecting confidence in India's ability to navigate it.

He emphasised the need for a proactive, coordinated, and forward-looking approach — stressing that vigilance must be maintained as the situation in West Asia continues to evolve in unpredictable ways. His guidance to the group was specific and demanding: adopt a medium to long-term preparedness approach, maintain high-level coordination across ministries, and ensure swift decision-making when the situation demands it.

"All policy efforts should remain in synergy and be implemented in a time-bound manner," Singh told the assembled ministers — a directive that reflects the government's awareness that fragmented or delayed responses could amplify the impact of an already serious global disruption.

In a post on X following the meeting, the Defence Minister made the government's commitment explicit and personal. "The Government, under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is committed to safeguarding the Indian people from any impact of the conflict," he wrote — words clearly intended to reassure a public already anxious about rising fuel prices, rumours of shortages, and the spectre of broader economic disruption.

Seven Empowered Groups Brief the Ministers

The meeting was not a general discussion. It was a structured, data-driven review of India's sectoral vulnerabilities and the policy measures already deployed to address them.

Seven Empowered Groups of Secretaries — senior bureaucrats tasked with monitoring specific sectors — made detailed presentations to the IGoM, outlining the key issues identified in their respective areas and the concrete steps already taken to manage the situation.

The breadth of the presentations underscored the multi-dimensional nature of the challenge. The West Asia conflict touches virtually every pillar of the Indian economy — oil and gas supplies, fertilizer imports, shipping routes, aviation connectivity, food prices, and industrial supply chains. Each Empowered Group was directed to continue close monitoring of developments and to maintain the high-level coordination that the current moment demands.

Rajnath Singh called for constructive inputs from all ministers present — a signal that the IGoM intends to function as a genuine deliberative body, drawing on the expertise and perspective of each ministry rather than operating as a top-down directive mechanism.

States and Districts Brought Into the Loop

One of the most significant decisions to emerge from Saturday's meeting was the IGoM's reaffirmation of the critical importance of coordination with state governments and district administrations.

The crisis, the group recognised, will ultimately be felt not in the corridors of Kartavya Bhawan but in petrol stations, kitchens, hospital supply chains, and local markets across India's cities, towns, and villages. Effective management of the situation therefore requires that state and district administrations are kept fully informed, properly equipped, and capable of responding swiftly to developments on the ground.

The need for timely communication of key policy initiatives to the public was also underscored — a recognition that how the government communicates during a crisis can be as important as what it actually does.

Declaring War on Rumours and Fake News

Perhaps the most operationally significant directive to emerge from Saturday's meeting was a direct instruction to all ministries and departments regarding the management of information.

Every ministry and department has been directed to share relevant information, developments, and advisories related to the ongoing West Asia situation through the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting's WhatsApp Channel — creating a single, authoritative, government-verified stream of information accessible to citizens across the country.

The objective is twofold: to ensure that accurate, timely information reaches the public, and to actively counter the rumours, misinformation, and fake news that have already begun to circulate on social media — causing panic buying at petrol pumps, anxiety over LPG supplies, and confusion over government policy.

The directive reflects a hard lesson that governments around the world have learned from recent crises: in the age of social media, the information battle can be as consequential as the policy battle. A government that wins on policy but loses on communication will still face a crisis of public confidence.

India's Strategic Posture

Saturday's IGoM meeting represents more than a bureaucratic response to a distant conflict. It represents a deliberate strategic posture — one that says India is watching, India is prepared, and India will act to protect its people and its economy from shocks that originate beyond its borders but land within them.

The formation of the IGoM itself — bringing together defence, finance, energy, food, aviation, and science ministers under a single coordinating umbrella — reflects a sophisticated understanding of how modern conflicts cascade through interconnected global systems. The West Asia conflict is not just a military event. It is an energy event, a supply chain event, a food security event, and a financial market event — all simultaneously.

India's response, Saturday's meeting signalled, will be equally multi-dimensional.

With Prime Minister Modi personally engaged in monitoring the situation, and a cabinet-level group now meeting regularly to track developments and coordinate responses, the government is positioning itself to stay ahead of the curve — rather than react to it.

The first IGoM meeting is done. It will not be the last.

The Informal Group of Ministers on West Asia was constituted to monitor the evolving situation and recommend proactive measures. Further meetings are expected as the situation develops.