Pillars of democracy are beleaguered in the country with Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself showing little respect for Parliament, opined MP and former Union Minister Shashi Tharoor.
Delivering a talk on ‘Endangered Democracy’, organised by the All-India Professionals’ Congress (AIPC) here, Mr. Tharoor said Parliament doesn’t function for more than 100 days and there is no debate when it functions, with the government promoting disruptions through its allies. For the first time in Independent India’s history, the Budget was passed without any debate indicating how the systems are sidelined, he said.
He said four Supreme Court judges have come out in the open, for the first time, against favouritism and it reflects how systematically trusted institutions are being lowered. Even the Election Commission of India (ECI) implicitly seems to be supporting the government’s moves and the altered dates of Gujarat and Uttarakhand elections reveal it.
Media suppressed
The fourth pillar — media is being brutally suppressed and journalists raising voice against the Government’s failures are losing jobs. The worst reflects from the World Press rating index where India stands at 136th position, even much below than Afghanistan. Communal hatred is unleashed in the country and the Government’s silence and inaction against the accused is like condoning it, he alleged.
The Right To Information (RTI) Act brought in by the previous UPA Government is totally diluted now with 4.8 million applications pending. Even in Telangana, he said about 30,000 GOs are suppressed in the name of confidentiality.
Comparing the present situation to Jawaharlal Nehru’s era, Mr. Tharoor said Mr. Nehru systematically built and strengthened the institutions realising that they had to be strong if India had to survive. It was the time when Nehru’s leadership was unchallenged yet instead of being a dictator he preferred democracy. He said the very ideas of Mahatma Gandhi are being challenged by the present rulers.
Earlier, TPCC chief N. Uttam Kumar Reddy said defeating TRS in Telangana was not just a political necessity but also to save democracy and free speech that are increasingly under threat from Mr. K. Chandrasekhar Rao and Mr. Modi.
South India coordinator J. Geeta Reddy, North India coordinator Salman Soz, East India coordinator Szarita Laitphlang and Telangana chapter president Dasoju Sravan were present.
