Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan and his team are gearing up to kickstart a television show in which the CM will communicate, discuss and debate with the public on various developmental programmes implemented by the government.
Titled Naam Munnottu (loosely translated to 'We, Forward'), the show will be a platform for the CM to address public grievances.
The 30-minute weekly programme was announced last month. Expected to go on air on December 31, 2017 on various channels in the state, the initiative is said to be an attempt to understand the perceptions and requirements of the people of the state.
The show will be helmed by Left independent MLA (Aranmula) Veena George, who is also a former journalist and news anchor. Doordarshan Malayalam channel will broadcast the show at 7.30 pm every Sunday with a repeat telecast at 10 am on Mondays, reports TOI.
The show will feature a panel of experts and noted personalities from social, cultural and film fields will also be invited to take part in the programme. One developmental issue will be taken up in each episode, with the government's achievements being highlighted.
The show is being produced by the state Information and Public Relations Department and executed by the state-run Centre for Development of Imaging Technology (C-DIT).
The CM will interact with a chosen audience and answer queries in an interactive session. It is expected that people will give their suggestions and register their opinion about various government programmes and developmental initiatives brought out by the government.
A similar initiative was practiced by former chief minister EK Nayanar during his third and final tenure as chief minister from 1996 to 2001. In the phone-in programme broadcast on Asianet channel, Nayanar used to address the public and listen to their grievances and problems.
Former CM Oommen Chandy had also featured in a weekly television programme called Sutharya Keralam. The CM interacted with a panel of experts and also attended to telephone calls from the public.
The current CM’s show also comes at a time when PM Narendra Modi hosts a monthly radio talk show called Mann Ki Baat, where he talks about various issues and governmental initiatives.