"Democracy thrives on dialogue and debate," said the vice president (File)
Democracy thrives on dialogue and debate, but dialogue among political parties is now missing, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar said here on Thursday.
Decorum and discipline are the "heart of democracy", he said, addressing members of the Maharashtra legislature at Vidhan Bhavan in south Mumbai.
"Democracy thrives on dialogue and debate," the vice president said, adding that ethics and morality are hallmarks of public life in India.
All is not well with the Indian political system and it is functioning under great strain, Mr Dhankhar said.
Weaponization of politics by stalling functioning of Parliament is pregnant with serious consequences for our polity, he said.
Dhankhar also expressed deep concerns over the trend to make House Chairman or Speaker "convenient punching bag".
He described the Parliament as "north star of democracy" and legislators as "light houses".
Wit, humour and sarcasm in the legislatures have given way to confrontational and adversarial scenarios, he said.
"Members meet me in my chamber and tell that they have a command from their political party to disrupt the House," Mr Dhankhar said.
He appealed political parties to reward those members whose performance has been excellent rather than those who are trooping into the well.
The primacy of debate, dialogue, deliberation and discussion in legislatures has yielded to disruption and disturbance, Mr Dhankhar said.
Emphasizing the need for maintaining strict adherence to democratic values and parliamentary traditions in legislatures, he said the kind of conduct that was seen in the recent Parliament session is "truly painful as it reflects significant moral erosion in our legislative discourse." "It is apparent that presently all is not well with functioning of our Parliament and legislatures. These temples of democracy are suffering sacrilege of strategised disruptions and disturbance.
"Dialogue amongst parties is missing and the level of discourse is nose diving by the day," he said.
Noting that cordiality and amicability are being replaced with confrontational and adversarial stance, Mr Dhankhar noted that "democratic polity is witnessing a new low and there is stress and strain." He said there is a need for introspection at all levels, particularly by political parties in such "explosive and alarming scenario".
"Wit, humour, satire and sarcasm, once nectar of discourse in the legislatures, are eluding us. Now we often witness confrontational and adversarial scenario," he said.
Political parties should inculcate in their members a deep sense of discipline and reward those members whose performance has been excellent rather than rewarding those who are trooping into well and engage in slogan-shouting, he said.
Calling for strict adherence to the doctrine of separation of powers, Mr Dhankhar said the nation progresses when its three wings - the legislature, the judiciary, and the executive -perform within their respective domains.
"An incursion by one institution in the domain of the other can potentially upset the apple cart," he said.
Underlining that legislation is the exclusive domain of the legislature and Parliament, he noted that legislatures are constitutionally obligated to seek consensual resolution of the transgressions into their domain by other organs of state.
Describing harmony as vital for a democracy, he expressed the need for evolution of a structured mechanism of interaction amongst those at the apex of these pillars of our democracy.
He also recalled the valour of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)