Begin typing your search above and press return to search.

�Prestige of Indian politicians coming down�

By Raju Das

SHILLONG, July 7 � The prestige of �selfish� Indian politicians amongst the masses is reducing, because they put their interest before that of the nation and its people, Rashid Alvi, said adviser of Bureau of Parliamentary Studies and Training.

�The prestige of Indian politicians is coming down because their commitment for the nation or the people is not there, but is only for their self interest�It is unfortunate,� he said at a recently held orientation programme for journalists here.

Alvi, who is also a senior Congress leader and Rajya Sabha member, quoted from the Bhagwad Gita and said about Krishna�s advice to Arjuna about committed Raja (King) and his Rajdharam (King�s responsibility to look after the welfare of his subjects.)

�However, such Raja and Rajdharam are not there these days and everyone is looking after their one�s interest,� he said to the gathering of journalists and officials from the Lok Sabha and Meghalaya Assembly.

Alvi said that power comes with responsibilities. He added that power is meant to �implement the thoughts and will of the people� into action and not to be authoritative. He also mentioned that just 100 MPs, out of the 800-odd are active in the Parliament. Dwelling on the farsightedness of Indian leaders of the past, Alvi said that when Pakistan declared itself as an Islamic State, 24 hours later, Indian leaders, however, declared itself as a secular State. �This is because the leaders had farsightedness, despite the fact that the leaders could well have declared India as a Hindu State having a Hindu majority,� Alvi said.

He further narrated how the freedom fighters of yesteryears toiled after Independence for an India with a just society. �The first Indian budget was a mere Rs 197 crore. Now, the budget is a whopping Rs 17 lakh crore,� Alvi said.

He said that India has not reached its destination, which it first embarked upon in 1947. �We are still on our way and maybe we would reach our destination one day,� Alvi hoped optimistically.

Next Story