This government has made RBI servile, says Arun Shourie

 Former Union minister and journalist Arun Shourie on Tuesday said structural flaws in the political system have allowed parties to employ politics of desire to undermine the spirit of democracy.

Delivering a public lecture at the National Institute of Advanced Studies (NIAS) here, he said the idea of development has been perverted to market the politics of desire. Those who speak against such developments are branded as anti-progressive and abused on social media, he said.

In an hour-long talk, Shourie touched upon the basics of political system to stress the need for a change. He cited the whip system in parties to argue that the law itself allows curbing of free voice.

“A person in an opposition party has all the rights to support a good bill proposed by the government and vice versa. But the law allows that person to be disqualified from the House, if he exercises that freedom,” he added.

He said the first-past-the-post system has failed to deliver efficient leaders as parties win polls even though they lose majority votes.

“This is reflected in the instance of two candidates winning the polls despite losing security deposit in Haryana, which was mentioned in Justice Venkatachalaiah report,” he said.

Demonetisation
Referring to demonetisation, he said the ruling party shot an arrow and claimed wherever it landed as its target. “The government today has made every institution servile and the latest victim is the RBI. The educated few should overcome the fear of intimidation to speak up their mind,” he said.

He called for full-fledged reforms at the fundamental level, including in the Constitution, to stop further damage to the society.

“Today, we are desperate to be more like the West. We need to restore our ambition for building an alternative society that Mahatma Gandhi expounded in the Hind Swaraj,” he added.