VIJAYAWADA: Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu on Monday called for a nationwide debate on the need to make legislation on the implementation of the poll promises made by political parties. He also said people should also play a responsible role and question the political parties over fulfilling the poll promises made by them.
Speaking at a public meeting after unveiling the statue of former Krishna Zilla Parishad chairman Pinnamaneni Koteswara Rao in Machilipatnam, he advocated that the political parties should be responsible while making poll promises.
“Nowadays, there is not much credibility to the promises made by political parties. Any government should analyse its financial position before making promises,’’ he opined. Venkaiah Naidu said a law should be made that the parties clearly mention how they are going to implement their poll promises. He said people will lose faith in governments if they make promises that cannot be implemented. Also, there will be a huge financial burden on the State for implementing such ‘irresponsible’ promises, he asserted. The Vice-President suggested that people not limit their participation to merely voting once in every five years, but also question and demand accountability constantly from the elected representatives and the government.
He said people should elect their representatives on the basis of 4Cs - ‘Character, Caliber, Capacity and Conduct’ and not on the basis of ‘Caste, Community, Cash and Criminality, which are being sought to be promoted by some people.Venkaiah Naidu also advocated that people should be more responsible and vote looking at the character of a candidate rather than religion, caste or money. He also stressed the need to promote value-based and ethical politics to strengthen the Indian democracy.
Expressing his concern over the falling standards in public life, Venkaiah Naidu urged public representatives to refrain from making personal attacks on their political adversaries. He emphasised the need for consensus-building with all stakeholders on important national matters and advised young and upcoming politicians to take principled stance on various issues.
On Pinnamaneni, the Vice- President said he made an everlasting impression on the minds of people as the former ZP chairman, retaining the position for more than two decades. “Decentralised democracy can bring development benefits to the people,’’ he said. Venkaiah Naidu called for a more responsible media that avoids sensationalism and reflects the state of affairs in society in an objective way.Housing Minister Jogi Ramesh, Krishna Zilla Parishad Chairman Uppala Harikrishna, Vijayawada MP Kesineni Srinivas and others were present on the occasion.