GUNTUR: Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu has expressed his anguish over the low quality of political debates during the just-concluded election campaign with politicians resorting to personal attacks using abusive language instead of focusing on larger issues of public concern. Speaking at a function organised at Guntur Club on Sunday to felicitate him by his friends and well-wishers following the recent conferment of honorary doctorate by the University for Peace at Costa Rica, Venkaiah Naidu said that politicians should remember that they are only rivals and not enemies.
They should desist from using abusive language. “All political parties, people and the press should seriously ponder over this issue,” he added. Commenting on exit polls, he appealed to the people to wait for the election results and not for the exit polls. He claimed that he had contested elections with the money donated by the public and said that he would continue to serve the people in the coming days.
He recalled that during his younger days as a legislator, he used to be highly critical of the policies of the government of the day, but never indulged in personal attacks. The Vice-president also underlined the importance of respecting Prime Minister, Chief Minister, Leader of Opposition and other public representatives.
Venkaiah Naidu, who for the first time in his 42 years of his political life has not participated in the general elections, said he used to address 16 public meetings a day, but never used foul language.
He urged the people to select and elect their representatives based on their character, calibre, conduct and capacity to strengthen democracy, although four other Cs—caste, cash, community, and criminality are trying to be predominant. He also took a dig at the growing trend of defections and freebies offered by political parties.
He also advised the media not to mix views with news and said that there should be an audit of the performance of the public representatives every five years. The country and the States need able leaders and a stable government, he added.Referring to his interactions with foreign dignitaries during his visits abroad, he said the world was impressed with India’s economic momentum. “India is being recognised and respected the world over,” he asserted and pointed out that the Indian economy was moving forward even when the global economy was slowing down.
The Vice-President said he would be focusing on five sectors in the coming days and said would like to interact with students and meet farmers. Chukkapalli Ramesh, Pathuri Koteswara Rao, Paturi Nagabhushanam, Jammula Shyam Kishore and others were present.