Even as the political parties are fast getting into poll mode, one of the senior most Communist leaders and former Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee on Thursday dropped a bombshell by stating that Left parties have become irrelevant in Indian politics.
Interacting with the faculty and students, on the sideline of the Fifth Ravenshaw University Development Trust annual lecture on ‘Impact of education on strengthening democracy’, Chatterjee observed that the Left parties are on a downslide as they have not been able to live up to the expectations and aspirations of the people.
“They have failed to change with time. As a result, from a strength of 60 seats in the Parliament, the Left Front has come down to 15. There are no sign of improvement in future and this warrants deep introspection among the Left parties,” he said in response to a question on the future of Left Front in the country.
The octogenarian leader, who was expelled from CPM in 2008 for not toeing the partyline and choosing to remain the Speaker, however, said he has continued to remain a firm Communist.
He also said coalition politics is here to stay as no party has the strength to form Government on its own. Coalition governments, despite the inherent pulls and pressures, can deliver good governance, which can be achieved by ensuring that the policies and programmes reach the people, he added.
Chatterjee called upon the educated youths to play a proactive role in restoring politics to its envisioned value system and contribute towards holistic progress of the country.
To make our Parliament and political system more effective, the country requires larger number of educated and committed youths to come forward and occupy political space.
“My young friends, you have to provide leadership to change the system for better. It is of little use to be mere bystanders or be critical of the aberrations in the system,” Chatterjee said.
Earlier, delivering his lecture, Chatterjee said in spite of substantial progress made in the last seven decades, democratic India presents a contrasting picture of affluence and deprivation.
The polity that has been fractured on religious, caste, regional and linguistic lines and influence of confrontational politics are weakening the country’s democratic structure and stifling its progress.
So, enhancing the quality of the system to bring about all-round development needs serious attention and sincere National effort, said the veteran Communist leader.