Time has come to cleanse system of various ills: Vice President Venkaiah Naidu

New Delhi: Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu on Monday expressed concern over frequent disruptions in Parliament, saying dysfunctional legislatures strike at the root of the principle of parliamentary democracy.

Pointing out that parliamentarians and legislators have every right to criticise the government, Naidu, also Rajya Sabha Chairman, stressed that they should never cross the “Lakshman rekha of decency, decorum and dignity” while making a point on the floor of the House.

He stressed that ideal behaviour is more important than ideology. Naidu said unfortunately, there has been a sharp erosion of values and standards over the years in all fields, including politics.

“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 said at an event at the Upa-Rashtrapati Nivas here.

He reiterated that people must select and elect their representatives on the basis of four all-important qualities or Cs – character, conduct, calibre and capacity.

“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”, he was quoted as saying in an official statement.

He made these remarks while interacting with students pursuing a one-year diploma course in Political Leadership and Governance from ”The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda”.

Naidu said he had always wanted the youth to not only take an active interest in politics but to join politics with enthusiasm and serve people with sincerity, discipline and dedication.

Referring to India’s demographic advantage with 65 percent of the population below the age of 35 years, the vice president called for fully leveraging the potential of a young nation to fast-track development and build a resurgent ”New India”.

Effective leadership is an indispensable requirement in every field for India to scale greater heights in the coming years, he told the students.