In a veiled message, NSA Ajit Doval targets Rahul Gandhi for attacking electoral system

New Delhi: In a veiled reference to the Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in Lok Sabha, and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi’s attacks on the Election Commission of India for alleged unfair conduct of elections, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval on Friday flagged the threat of disinformation eroding the credibility of national institutions.

“The credibility of these institutions in the public eye should not be allowed to get eroded by disinformation, hostile propaganda or vested political interests; these institutions are sacrosanct,” he said, listing defence forces, security forces, judiciary, CAG or the electoral system as the possible targets of vested disinformation campaigns.

“It will be very, very disastrous,” he said, underscoring the need for the government to put in a greater effort in perception management and creating awareness to protect the image of national institutions.

Delivering a lecture on governance on the occasion of the Rashtriya Ekta Diwas, Doval stressed capacity building to achieve the target of a developed nation.

Apart from training personnel and adopting new technologies and best practices, he highlighted the need for building the government’s capacity in perception management and creating awareness, he said.

“Perception management is important as the national will is affected when its image is sullied,” he said, adding that this shakes public faith in the country’s electoral or financial systems, as people feel that there is a lack of transparency in them.

Doval said that some other areas where governance can get better are accountability and low tolerance for defaulters.

Recommending stricter handling of defaulters, he said, “Sympathy misplaced is the worst form of quality.”

He said supporting or shielding the wrong people should be made as punishable as possible.

Sharing one of his earlier discussions on measures to reduce corruption in the police force, the NSA said that he once suggested that there can be an adverse entry in the record of the immediate senior officer of a corrupt policeman, and that he cannot control corruption amongst his subordinates.

“The senior will see to it that the corruption comes down… to at least by 50 per cent because then it is in his interest to see that the people below him do not become visibly corrupt,” he said.

IANS