VP Venkaiah Naidu urges legislators to maintain 'decency, decorum & dignity' in Parliament

Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu, while interacting with students from ‘The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda’ at Upa-Rashtrapati Nivas in Delhi, said that India, being the largest democracy in the world, should set an example with its Parliament and legislatures.

He said that India needs to change its behaviour of parliamentary democracy and must enforce the processes for good governance as the country celebrates 75 years of Independence. He was speaking against the frequent disruptions in Parliament and state legislatures due to unhealthy behaviour by the MLAs.

Indecency, a big political flaw in India

He continued that dysfunctional legislatures will hamper the process of parliamentary democracy. He did clarify that legislators have every right and must criticise the government. However, the Vice President said that they must never cross the Lakshman Rekha of ‘decency, decorum and dignity’ while doing so.

He appealed to the people that they must elect the politicians based on these important qualities - character, conduct, calibre and capacity. He said, "Unfortunately, our electoral system is getting vitiated with the replacement of these 4Cs by another set of undesirable 4 Cs— caste, community, cash and criminality."

Talking about the youth joining politics, the Vice President said that he wanted youth to not only take an active interest in politics, but also join politics with a mentality filled with enthusiasm to serve people. He also said that ideal behaviour is more important than the ideology itself.

There has been a decline in the importance of values and standards over the years in all fields, including politics. He was quoted as saying, "The time has come to cleanse the system of various ills that are plaguing it and promote high ethical and moral standards in all walks of life."

He considers himself against populist policies and says that the marginalised must be helped through empowerment like education, skills and livelihood opportunities. Vice President Venkaiah Naidu further said that India’s 65% population is below the age of 35 years and the country must take advantage of the potential of a young nation that will help in the development of a resurgent India.

(With PIB inputs)