Principal of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar College of Law V. Kesava Rao giving a lecture on ‘Indian democracy at the cross roads’ – “Has the Constitution failed us” at the Visakhapatnam Public Library in Visakhapatnam on Saturday. Director of the Centre A. Prasanna Kumar and Prof M. Nalini of the Department of Politics and Public Administration of AU, are seen. Photo:C.V.Subrahmanyam. / The Hindu
‘Red tape, black money, and corruption are eating into vitals of democracy’
Crime in politics and farce in election system in India have created a vacuum of morality, observed Principal and Dean of Andhra University Law College A. Kesava Rao here on Saturday.
Delivering a talk on ‘Has the Constitution failed us?’, arranged by Gayatri Vidya Parishad’s Centre for Policy Studies at Visakhapatnam Public Library, he shared his views and experiences about how good governance was better than self governance and how our Constitution had at many times been tested when assaults had been made on the fundamental rights in the Constitution.
He highlighted the ways in which the Constitution had protected our nation till date either by restricting political chaos with the help of judiciary or by safeguarding the rights and interests of the media.
Expressing disappointment over how three elements — red tape, black money, and corruption — failed our Constitution, he said they deprived us of the fruits of the vision our leaders had envisioned for us.
REMEDIAL MEASURES
Professor in the Department of Politics and Public Administration, Andhra University, M. Nalini, who spoke on ‘Measures for course correction’, put forth a few remedial measures for a better democracy.
She focused on constructive measures such as structural changes, radical decentralisation of power from unions, improvement in the quality of democracy, restricting the malfunctioning of democracy, educating the public, facilitation of public hearing, formation of an accountable coalition body, improvement in the responsiveness of masses and need for extensive discussion of issues like treaties and policies in the parliament in her speech.
CPS Director A. Prasanna Kumar spoke on ‘Non-Alignment 2.0′ – a foreign and strategic policy for India framed by eight prominent scholars and released in January 2012.
Eliminating poverty, utilising human resources, giving significance to inclusive growth, upholding values and preserving our moral and ideological capital were the challenges faced today, he pointed out.
source: http://www.TheHindu.com / News> Cities> Visakhapatanam / May 27th, 2012