Venkaiah Naidu advices against using populist measures for elections

The Vice President of India, M Venkaiah Naidu, on Wednesday, October 16, forewarned all the political parties against using vote-catching populist measures on the eve of elections. He said that resorting to such measures would ultimately affect the expenditure on development. He was interacting with the law students at Vice-President House in Delhi. During his speech, he highlighted that strengthening democracy was in the hands of the people and added that voting was not only a right but a responsibility too. 

Vice President on voting wisely 

Venkaiah Naidu likewise called upon individuals to settle on a thought about the decision while picking their elected representatives. He said, "People should keep in mind 4 Cs--Character, Conduct, Calibre and Capacity while choosing their representatives. Unfortunately, some people were trying to weaken democracy by promoting another set of 4 Cs--caste, community, cash, and criminality. People should make a considered choice while choosing their elected representatives". 

Read: Venkaiah Naidu in Sierra Leone: 'Isolate countries aiding terrorism'

State and Lok Sabha elections together 

The Vice President, Venkaiah Naidu also said that the concept of holding simultaneous elections to the State Assemblies and the Lok Sabha “should be a one-time affair". He also called for making judicial process more people-friendly. The vice president said the law enforcement machinery and the justice dispensing structures must be accessible, credible, equitable and transparently even-handed. "There is a lot of ground we have to cover in this regard", he added. 

Read: Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu to visit Comoros and Sierra Leone

Amid the Vice President’s call for having clean elections without vote-catching populist measures, Sharad Pawar on Wednesday was seen making comments on BJP-Shiv Sena. He conjured the issue of farmers' suicide and said,

“People in rural areas tell me that they have not suffered anything worse than this rule of BJP-Shiv Sena. 16,000 farmers have committed suicide in Maharashtra in the last five years." He had earlier also made comments like, “PM Modi and Amit Shah do not complete their speeches without taking my name. Sometimes I am worried. I can understand Modiji is single. However, the second one might be taking my name in his sleep as well, and his family members must be surprised". 

(With ANI Inputs)

Read: Vice President Venkaiah Naidu's big warning to Pakistan: Hand over PoK

Read: John Abraham's Batla House: Vice President Venkaiah Naidu impressed by 'motivation' behind the film