Venkaiah Naidu's "Don't Change Parties" Advice For Young Politicians

Former Vice President Venkaiah Naidu on Wednesday said legislators should not change parties frequently, warning that party-hopping will lead to people losing interest in politics which will be bad for democracy.

He was speaking at the inaugural function of the 13th Bharatiya Chhatra Sansad organised by the MIT School of Government and MIT World Peace University here.

"My advice to the young politicians, students -- join politics. Be constructive and attentive. Do not change parties frequently. Nowadays it is difficult to understand who is in which party. I go around the country and I take names of people and mention their parties, but other people correct me that a particular person is no longer in that party," the BJP veteran said.

This was shameful for a democracy, he said.

He joined the BJP and continued to work with conviction and became its president, Venkaiah Naidu said.

"It is my advice to budding politicians. Stick to the ideology. If the leader becomes arrogant and dictator, then discuss within the party and take a decision. This is the way. Otherwise, people will lose respect for politics," he said.

"If legislators change their parties frequently, citizens will lose interest in politics and it will be a bad thing for democracy. Opponents in politics should protest and stop the government from doing wrong things, but they should keep in mind that they are not enemies of the government and should allow legislatures to function," the former vice president added.

Legislators should be role models for the people and should not disrupt proceedings of the House, he said. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)