NEW DELHI: Vice President M Hamid Ansari has said that Mann Ki Baat is an ingenious and influential communication platform created by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to connect with the people.

Addressing a function where ‘Man Ki Baat A Social Revolution on Radio’ authored by Rajesh Jain was received by President Pranab Mukherjee, Ansari said Man Ki Baat takes a traditional medium like the All India Radio and marries it to the entire spectrum of communication technologies available - from television to the internet, from social media to mobile telephony. Mann Ki Baat has become an important element of Modi’s direct-to-people communication strategy, he added.

Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan, Finance Minister Arun Jailtey, and Secretary to the President Omita Paul and other dignitaries were present on the occasion.

The Vice President said history abounds in instances of leaders moving crowds with the power of words. Semantics differentiates between an orator and a demagogue; both speak to persuade; both play on emotions, he added.

“Leaders of men and women necessarily feel the need to communicate with their followers in order to get the message across, generate enthusiasm and repel doubts. To do so effectively, they need verbal skills. Some are born with it, others cultivate it. Success often depends on the occasion, the nature of the audience, and the right mix of facts, logic and sentiments to exude a sense of authenticity.”

A new complementary ‘Jan ki Baat’ programme has recently been announced and would make the process increasingly interactive.

The book is a compilation of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s addresses to the nation on radio every month under the programme ‘Mann Ki Baat’. It contains a comprehensive, qualitative and academic analysis of ‘Mann Ki Baat’ – the themes, the choice of topics, the salient features. It illustrates how ‘Mann Ki Baat’ has connected with the ‘New India’ – the youth in particular. It also presents a coherent narrative about the manner in which ‘Mann Ki Baat’ has created mass movements, be it in cleanliness, in promoting India’s tourism potential, safer roads, drugs free India etc.