Vice President, Hamid Ansari has expressed concern over attempts to curb the voice of dissent in the country.
Expressing concern over attempts to curb the voice of dissent in the country, Vice President Hamid Ansari has said that any attempts to suppress it "diminishes the democratic essence".
"Dissent as a right has been recognised by the Supreme Court of India as one aspect of the Right of Freedom of Speech guaranteed as a fundamental right by Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution," the Vice President said.
Mr Ansari's remarks come within days of his strongly pitching for affirmative action for Muslims as a prerequisite to ensure the success of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi led National Democratic Alliance government's 'sabka saath sabka vikas' vision.
Referring to concerns of civil society on the issue of dissent, Mr Ansari said, "In the globalising world of today and in most countries having a democratic fabric, role of civil society in the articulation of dissent has been and continues to be comprehensively discussed; so does the question of its marginalisation or suppression."
Referring to the new reporting requirements for NGOs, Mr Ansari said, "Nothing is more fatal for disagreements and dissent than the idea that all of it can be reduced to hidden sub-texts or external agendas. The idea that anyone who disagrees with my views must be the carrier of someone else's subversive agenda is, in some ways, deeply anti-democratic.
He also spoke about it does away with the possibility of genuinely good faith disagreement. It denies equal respect to citizens because it absolves you of taking their ideas seriously. Once we have impugned the source, we don't have to pay attention to the contents of the claim.. This has serious consequences for dissent he said.
Mr Ansari was addressing the First Ram Manohar Lohia Memorial National Lecture last evening. He said that the former socialist leader was the 'stormy petrel' of the Indian politics" for two decades.