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Even as he outlined the need for and strengths of dialogue and healthy “criticism” of the government, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday warned the media against excessive “allegations” as doing so “weakened democracy.”

Mr. Modi urged people to sharpen their skills of criticism as he lamented that today allegations had replaced constructive criticism. Making allegations did not require much effort, he pointed out, but for constructive criticism you needed thorough analysis.

“The need of the times is that we tread the path of criticism and shy away from allegations. Criticism opens up the door to the shuddikaran (cleansing) of views. The more we allege, the more we lose our strengths, and weaken democracy,” Mr. Modi said at the platinum jubilee celebrations of Marathi newspaper Pudhari at Kolhapur.

“I am saddened to say that today allegations have replaced criticism. And if anyone is getting ruined due to this, they are the people in power,” he said.

Stating the role of criticism in a democracy, Mr. Modi said "every decision, every view" should be followed by criticism. There should be space for samvad (discussion) and vivad (controversy) and the view generated after that will enable us to reveal the truth, the PM said.

“If there is no criticism, democracy will be at a loss. One should not be saddened by criticism. Criticism gives us an opportunity to assess the truth, creates possibilities to avoid wandering off into the wrong direction, and prevents us from making mistakes,” he said.

The Prime Minister also said that for a healthy democracy, the role of the media was utmost as the trustworthiness associated with news brought with it a big responsibility.

“People don’t easily believe hearsay but they also don’t hesitate to easily believe what appears in newspapers. People look up to the media for sache and ache samachar (truthful and good news). Whoever understands this hunger for good and credible news, will be increasing its own credibility,” he pointed out.

Mr. Modi said the rise of the media in India happened simultaneously with the independence movement and the media continued to play a role in nation building.

“Thirty years ago, newspapers had to search for news, now news hunts for the paper and publicity. Even if be it good or bad publicity," he said.