Revive culture of talks across party lines: Joshi

BJP leader says it is key to democracy

BJP veteran Murli Manohar Joshi on Tuesday said the culture of holding political discussions on issues of national and international importance that went beyond party lines is “almost finished now and there is a need to revive it.”

Dr. Joshi made the remarks while offering tributes to Congress leader S. Jaipal Reddy.

Recalling that Reddy was part of a forum that discussed key issues on Intellectual Property Rights in the 1990s, the BJP leader said the late Congress leader would often agree with the forum despite being in government.

“There used to be an attempt [in forums] having people from different parties to try and form an opinion on national and international issues. Those attempts have become scarce, in fact, are almost finished. It is important to revive such practices,” Dr. Joshi said.

Top dignitaries, including Vice-President M. Venkaiah Naidu and former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, paid rich tributes to Reddy.