Kerala - Thrissur   

Democracy yet to mature in India, says K. Venu

Thrissur: Communists are not democratically inclined, political activist K. Venu has said.

He was participating in a discussion on “Why should we vote? Who should we vote for?”, organised by People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) at the Kerala Sahithya Akademi Hall here on Friday.

“When candidates get elected, they become an ‘elite group’ insensitive to people’s issues,” he alleged.

He contended that Indian democracy still carried feudal elements.

“India lacks the democratic maturity of Western countries. Scandals dethrone presidents in American democracy, but corrupt leaders in India go unscathed.”

Social activist P.A. Vasudevan said that people’s representatives should be accessible to the common man.

Journalist M. P. Surendran said that democracy suffered when issues were not addressed from the point of view of the masses.

“A major failure of political parties has been their inability to set democratic agendas.

“Adding insult to injury, religious organisations are deciding the fate of our democracy. Public apathy too contributes to its weakening,” he said.

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