Follow Us
Lalit Mohan
Tribune News Service
Dharamsala, May 14
Deteriorating standards in politics is the root cause of all ills such as corruption, unemployment and the naxal movement afflicting Indian society. Veteran BJP leader and former CM Shanta Kumar said this while addressing a meeting of intellectuals here today.
A talk on current Lok Sabha elections and challenges before the nation was organised by the Himalayan Vichar Manch.
Shanta Kumar said the challenge before society even 70 years after independence was that still about 40 per cent of population did not come out to vote. The right to vote was secured for the Indian people after about 100-year struggle against the British in which martyrs such as Bhagat Singh laid down their lives. “Sometimes I think that voting should be made mandatory by law for every citizen of the country,” he said.
He said there had been deterioration in Indian politics over generations. “We see elected representatives fight like street fighters in Parliament. They behave like children fighting in the streets. Many leaders facing serious criminal and corruption cases are retaining their seats in Parliament. The Supreme Court had to intervene in the matter by giving directions to the government to stem the rot”, he said.
“I feel ashamed as a political leader. The NDA government had to constitute a special court for speedy trial of criminal cases against political leaders,” said Shanta Kumar.
Quoting Swami Vivekanand, Shanta Kumar said that he had said that people should forget ‘devi devtas’ and, instead, care for the poor.
On National Population Register
The BJP implemented the National Population Register in the country due to fact that data available suggested that about 3 crore outsiders had entered the country illegally, got voter identity cards and some even managed to get elected to constitutional posts. Though BJP might suffer damage due to implementation of population register, it was a step in right direction, said former CM Shanta Kumar.
2
4
5
7