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Venkaiah Naidu for objective criticism, says dissent key to democracy
Speaking at the Lokmat Parliamentary Award, a ceremony to present awards to parliamentarians for their work, Naidu said India has chosen the parliamentary system as the essential framework for its governance and has for the past 70 years nurtured the system.
India is a great experiment in democratic governance, which we need to be proud about, and as the largest parliamentary democracy in the world we should perform duties in an objective and constructive manner, vice-president M Venkaiah Naidu said on Tuesday.
Speaking at the Lokmat Parliamentary Award, a ceremony to present awards to parliamentarians for their work, Naidu said India has chosen the parliamentary system as the essential framework for its governance and has for the past 70 years nurtured the system.
“Parliament is a great source of authentic information for public policies; here you cannot give inauthentic information, because you are accountable. Parliament debates provide an insight into the complex national issues and project multiple perspectives for each of them; it is an institution of public information and education,” he said.
Referring to dissent as the essence of democracy, he said criticism should be objective and dignified, because political parties are not enemies. “We should respect each other and that was the tradition in politics earlier. Slowly, we are now seeing tension and animosity, which is not good for a healthy democratic system,” he said.
“Let there be criticism, let the government propose, let the Opposition oppose and let the House dispose…that is the only way,” Naidu said.
Urging the bureaucracy and the judiciary to fulfill their responsibilities, he said both institutions should follow due processes for delivery of justice.
“These days, there is talk of instance justice. You cannot have instance justice and constant delays. We have to register the case, complete the inquiry and then complete the judicial process that is in the interest of the system… There is a process as a constitutional country, we have to follow the system and see to it that delays are avoided,” he said.
Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said India was an ancient civilisation, but a young nation, which has been pitching for centuries the doctrine of live and let live. “It is recognised as a second-oldest democracy as well as the largest democracy in the world. As a country and civilisation, it has been witnessing an unending celebration of human pluralities. We believe pluralism accommodates differences and in turn dissent,” he said.
NCP leader and Rajya Sabha member Sharad Pawar, who was also the chair of the jury that picked the awardees, said it is through processes in Parliament and assemblies that elected representatives address the problems faced by people.
This year awards were presented to former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and former defence minister Mulayam Singh Yadav for lifetime achievement in the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha, respectively; DMK’s Rajya Sabha MP T Siva and TMC’s Lok Sabha MP Saugata Roy were given the best parliamentarian award.
NCP’s Lok Sabha MP Supriya Sule and Congress’ Rajya Sabha MP Viplove Thakur were presented the awards for best women parliamentarians; while JDU’s Rajya Sabha MP Kahkashan Perween and BJP’s Lok Sabha MP Bharti Pawar were presented the awards for best debut women parliamentarians.
