Parties should introspect over behaviour

Former US Federal Judge Charles W. Pickering once said a healthy democracy requires a decent society with honorable, generous, tolerant and respectful people.

Though everyone agrees terms such as decent, honorable, generous, tolerant and respectful are very much relative in nature, they are understandable in a wider perspective and people, especially those involved fully in the body politic should stick to these principles of healthy democracy.

It is up to us to verify and introspect whether we are living in a healthy democracy or a democracy that has sickened beyond repair. A healthy democracy should also accord utmost importance to people’s issues and problems and prioritize them in finding solutions to them.

However, there lacks on part of the Government, state or central, the sincerity to attend to chronic public issues such as Telangana, power crisis, inflation, declining rates of employment, brain drain and water supply to the farm sector.

When it comes to the point of avoiding public issues, the AP assembly is not different from the Lok Sabha which completed its recent session without transacting any core business.

A government consists of not only ministers and officials but also legislature or parliament and MLAs or MPs. The way the assembly is adjourned for the second day during the 5-day monsoon session smacks of negligence on part of the Government and the main opposition to pay attention to the peoples’ problems.

On the face of it, it gives the impression that TRS has been fighting towards its end of achieving the separate state but the party insisted on introducing a resolution on Telangana despite knowing it won’t get adopted for reasons known to everyone. A Telangana resolution being introduced and getting vetoed is also not in the interests of achieving Telangana state. The role of TDP is also not commendable either on the first day of the session.

Though, the parties worked their way to ensure that the assembly is adjourned for the second consecutive day without transacting any public issues. The way the parties behaved gives the impression that they have been in collusion with the ruling congress.

The parties should introspect whether these practices are in the best interest of a healthy democracy or contributing to the complete downfall of a democratic system that is at least alive from a constitutional angle. 

(Updated on Sept 18,2012)