Former Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu has called for amendments to the 10th schedule of the Constitution or Anti-Defection Law to make elected representatives resign from their posts if they intend to change parties.
“While it is not wrong to change political parties due to differences in policies or opinions or if the leader becomes anti-democratic, they should quit posts obtained through the party. These days it is getting difficult to keep track as some leaders are changing parties quite often,” he remarked.
PM releases 3 books
Mr. Naidu was addressing a gathering on the occasion of his 75th birthday after Prime Minister Narendra Modi released three books on him through a video link up from New Delhi, where he had also commended the former’s political journey.
Call for accountability
“I am requesting all parties and do not have any single individual in mind. I encourage all those who are enthusiastic to enter politics but there should be accountability. Political leaders should behave responsibly and decently whether it is in a municipality, Assembly or Parliament if people are to respect them. There is a need for issue-based politics with certain values and traditions to be followed,” he said.
The former VP said “calibre, character, capacity and conduct should be the criteria for entering politics and not caste and money”.
He claimed that when he had contested elections in 70s and 80s, “I did not spend a single rupee from my pocket nor pocketed a single rupee. People contributed and I want those days to return. We need to enhance the prestige of the world’s largest democracy. Leaders and cadre should be imparted training too where principles of honesty and integrity should be imbibed,” he said.
Earlier, Mr. Modi had recalled his long association with Mr. Naidu as party president, Union Minister and later as VP stating that he was an inspiration for the youth. “I learnt a lot from him. He laid the foundation for the party in the Telugu States hailing from a farmer’s family and went on to hold high posts. He was a special host during festivals too,” he said.
The books released include Mr. Naidu’s biography “Venkaiah Naidu – Life in Service” by former Resident Editor ‘The Hindu’ S. Nagesh Kumar, “Celebrating Bharat – The Mission and Message of M Venkaiah Naidu as 13th Vice–President of India”, a photo chronicle compiled by former secretary I.V. Subba Rao and pictorial biography in Telugu titled “Mahaneta – Life and Journey of M. Venkaiah Naidu” by Shri Sanjay Kishore.
Mr. Naidu praised Mr. Modi for doing excellent work for the poor and the downtrodden all these years and urged him to strive for the urban -rural divide, skill development, promoting Indian languages and take up reforms for development and welfare.
“Freebies make people lazy but those in the need should be aided,” he said. Several retired and serving officials, jurists and elected representatives were present.