Letters: The erosion of democracy

Shankar Acharyas column Early exit from economic stress? (A Piece Of My Mind, May 9) rightly attributes Indias slow economic growth rate to supply-side bottlenecks owing to, among others, a sudden tightening of environmental regulations, a host of high-profile corruption cases, judicial restraints on iron ore mining, delay in the completion of core sector projects and general policy paralysis. The inertia in policy making and implementation in these critical areas indicates a certain unwillingness to take bold initiatives, and a preference for populist measures such as the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act and the food security Bill. It would be helpful if political parties could rise above what the author calls partisan politics and put the interests of the nation first. Unfortunately, in a climate of successive coalition governments at the Centre, competitive populism has become the order of the day. The culture of consensus and consultation that lie at the heart of thriving parliamentary democracies is fast getting eroded: this is exemplified by a fall in the quality of parliamentary discourse in recent years. If parliamentary democracy is to survive  let alone thrive  it is imperative that our politicians display a higher level of maturity and far-sightedness so as to ensure that Indias economic growth trajectory does not get derailed, and that the benefits of development accrue to all sections of society. For this to happen, Indias electorate needs to become more demanding of their politicians, and less tolerant of corruption and misgovernance.

Srijit Basu Kolkata

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