Bhopal, Sep 16 (IANS): Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Friday said “freedom of press” is the backbone of a democratic country and journalists carry the responsibility of building the country.

He advised journalists to work with responsibility and not to become tools for politicians or political parties for setting an agenda or narrative.

"Freedom of the press can only be possible when the press becomes responsible," Dhankhar said in his address to students of the Makhanlal Chaturvedi National University of Journalism and Communication.

Visiting to Bhopal to inaugurate the varsity's new campus, the Vice President, addressing the inaugural ceremony, criticised those who "taint, tarnish, and demean" the image of the country abroad, especially at a time when the world is praising its development.

He claimed India has progressed beyond imagination and it has been recognised wild-wise. “When something good is happening in the country, the digestive system of some people gets upset. They are unable to digest and look for an opportunity to taint our country and institutions. How to taint, tarnish and demean them. They go around the world to spread fire. No citizen of any country indulges in such an act," he claimed.