The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Bangarappa for Presidential form of government

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Oct 26, 2007
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Bangarappa for Presidential form of government

S. Rajendran

Expresses anguish over ‘degeneration’ in politics in State

S. Bangarappa

BANGALORE: The former Chief Minister, S. Bangarappa, has expressed anguish over what he termed the “degeneration” in politics with particular reference to the State. He believes there should be a public debate on switching over to a Presidential form of government.

Mr. Bangarappa, who will turn 75 on Friday, told The Hindu that it was the lack of proper political leadership that had resulted in political parties being unable to put in a good performance in the elections over the last 10 years.

This had resulted in a fractured mandate resulting in political parties with different ideologies coming together merely for the sake of forming a Government. “After the honeymoon period, coalition partners fall apart,” he remarked.

He said that in the interest of overall development “multi-party democracy should give way to a Presidential form of government with requisite changes in the Constitution.”

Asked if he was in favour of a merger of smaller political parties which could enable the electorate make an easy choice in the elections, Mr. Bangarappa said mergers have not really had the desired effect. For instance, the Samajwadi Party is relatively new in the State.

He, however, said, “It will prove its presence in the next elections. In what way has the Congress with over a 100 years of history, the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Janata Dal (Secular) been favoured by the people. Given the nature of the 2004 mandate in the Assembly and Lok Sabha elections, I am confident that the Samajwadi Party will receive good recognition in the coming elections. We have, therefore, decided to contest all the 224 Assembly seats and the 28 Lok Sabha seats independently.”

Mr. Bangarappa represented Sorab constituency in the Legislative Assembly seven times since 1967. From 1996, he has been representing the Shimoga Lok Sabha constituency having won four of the five elections since then. His only defeat was in the 1998 general elections.

With reference to the political imbroglio in the State, the former Chief Minister favoured a fresh mandate.

“I do not think M.P. Prakash will succeed in forming a Government with the support of the Congress. I congratulate the Janata Dal (Secular) for snapping its ties with the communal Bharatiya Janata Party. This, however, does not mean that I appreciate the performance of the H.D. Kumaraswamy Government. It has failed the people on several counts,” he said.

Asked if he had any birthday resolution in mind, Mr. Bangarappa said, “I pray to God to give me the strength to serve the people more. I have no wants. I have no plan to retire from politics. I am physically and mentally fit.”

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