AGARTALA: Leader of the opposition Manik Sarkar today took a swipe at the ruling BJP and claimed that parliamentary democracy is under threat ever since the saffron party came to power.
Addressing the “save education” rally organized by the Students Federation of India, the students’ arm of the opposition CPIM, Sarkar said, “People’s rights are being looted in the broad daylight. The constitution of India gives us the right to exercise our franchise freely.”
He added, “But, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and its fascist tactics of using muscle power and money are gradually decimating the spirit of our constitution. If we don’t have the right to cast votes how come this freedom is real.”
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Explaining his views on the parliamentary system and elections, he said, “The elections are the most crucial part of any democratic system. There we find defined roles of the ruling parties and opposition parties and most importantly the electoral battles are by nature fought on a level playing ground. This system completely vanished after the BJP came to power. All the elections in the state and at the national levels have been turned into farcical exercises”.
According to the former Chief Minister, the parliament nowadays runs like a puppet show.
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“The BJP is banking on their higher numbers in the parliament passing 10 to 15 Bills in a day. The scope of discussion on the legislation is shrinking with passing time. Nobody can enact a perfect law in the first place. All acts need amendments based on the discussions and practical experience accumulated in the implementing stage. But, they are less bothered to hear anything from the opponents which are dangerous”, he pointed out.
Sarkar appealed to the youth and students to take centre stage against what he called the “divisive” politics of the saffron party.