VP Naidu cautions against populist measures saying it will affect development expenditure

Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu on Wednesday cautioned political parties against resorting to vote-catching populist measures on the eve of elections, as it would ultimately affect the expenditure on development.

Interacting with law students at Vice-President House in Delhi, he outlined that strengthening democracy was in the hands of the people and added that voting was not only a right but a responsibility too.

He also called upon people to make a considered choice while choosing their elected representatives.

"People should keep in mind 4 Cs--Character, Conduct, Calibre and Capacity, while choosing their representatives. Unfortunately, some people were trying to weaken democracy by promoting another set of 4 Cs--caste, community, cash and criminality. People should make a considered choice while choosing their elected representatives", he stated.

The Vice President also endorsed the concept of holding simultaneous elections to the State Assemblies and the Lok Sabha saying "it should be a one-time affair".

Calling for making the judicial processes more people-friendly, the Vice President said the law enforcement machinery and the justice dispensing structures must be accessible, credible, equitable and transparently even-handed.

"There is a lot of ground we have to cover in this regard", he added.