Intellectual poverty among political leaders: Karnataka speaker

vidhana-soudha The Vidhana Soudha | via Commons

Personal attacks, baseless allegations and character assassination are lowering the dignity of the assembly and the Parliament, said Karnataka Congress leader Ramesh Kumar, soon after he was unanimously elected as the assembly speaker on Friday.

“If one is intellectually equipped, he/she would not stoop so low in argument. One has to go by issues, statistics and facts in a debate. But today, the whole body of politics is reduced to a new low, right from the top-most office in the country. We must understand that politicians don't come heaven but from among us. It is a reflection of the overall deterioration in the level of our discourse,” he said. The speaker was hinting at the increasing tendency of politicians to indulge in mudslinging inside the house.

Speaking to reporters after the house was adjourned sine die after the trust vote, the speaker admitted that personal attacks inside the house go against good parliamentary practices.

“Earlier, there used to be seniors who the newcomers could emulate. This set high standards and discussions and debates were academic. But these things have vanished. When the line between politics and business gets blurred, the political system suffers. It is difficult to find elected representatives who are interested in parliamentary proceedings today. How many are keen to master parliamentary practices, go to the library, read the agenda, participate in the discussions and and themselves updated,” asked Kumar.

“I appreciate stormy debates in the house as it (assembly) is not meant to be a Rotary Club. But there should be decorum,” he added.

The speaker praised former chief minister Siddaramaiah for sticking to the norms of the Fiscal Responsibility Act of not exceeding the limit for borrowings.

“Like late Ashok Mitra of West Bengal, Siddaramaiah too managed to stick to this financial discipline. No cheques bounced, no development work was stalled nor did any populist programmes suffer. But no credit was given to Siddaramaiah,” rued Kumar.

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