Former Jharkhand Chief Minister Babulal Marandi today demanded direct elections to the posts of prime minister and chief ministers in the country.
"There is a need for a change in the system by introducing direct elections which would give people a chance to elect their PM/CM directly," Marandi, president of Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (Prajatantrik), told reporters here at a press meeting where he released his party's manifesto for the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.
"We call for direct elections to prevent any person from occupying the chair," Marandi said.
Meanwhile, Marandi said that the new Land Acquisition Bill, which was recently cleared by Parliament, still lacked adequate safeguards to protect the interests of farmers and cultivators.
Marandi said that the best compensation for land losers would be land in return for land although the new Bill had made no provisions in that regard.
