BJP MP Varun Gandhi on Saturday said the country’s political system needs to be changed and more youngsters should participate in politics. “For this to happen, politicians should behave in a way that people should start believing in politics and think about joining it,” said Mr Gandhi, who was speaking at a seminar.
Mr Gandhi expressed concern over increasing economic inequality saying, “Ten per cent of people in the country possess 89 per cent of the wealth. This needs to be changed. Institutions like the Election Commission need to be strengthened. There is a cap on a candidate’s budget in an election but there is no limit on how much political parties can spend during elections.”
He also opined that the people should have the right to remove their representative from his or her post if he or she fails to deliver. “Just as people can vote candidates into power, they should have the power to vote them out. Besides, experts in the field should be elected in respective posts so that their knowledge would be helpful in sorting out problems and influencing policy making,” he said.
“In Morocco, people took to the streets demanding that the constitution be changed in 2011. The king there went for constitutional reforms, and within two months more than 2,00,000 people gave their recommendations. After two months, a new constitution with these recommendations was rolled out. Germany has two dedicated bodies to ensure public participation in politics and policy making. Very basic suggestions given by public are amended in the laws. This type of reforms should happen in our country,” he said.
He also said, “Jordan has a ministry for political development that goes to youngsters to understand their ideology, styles, choices and so on, and recommends that political parties take them in. Eleven per cent of the leaders over there are absorbed in this way.”
