VP Venkaiah Naidu Against Dynasty in Democracy, Calls It ‘Nasty’

Venkaiah Naidu’s comments seemed to be a direct response to Rahul Gandhi’s statement on dynastic politics in India.

Dynasty and democracy cannot go together, as democracy by definition is the will of the people, Vice President of India M Venkaiah Naidu said on Friday.

“Democracy means it’s the will of the people. There is a discussion about dynasty. Dynasty and democracy cannot go together. It is simple,” Naidu said, as he unveiled a book – Loktantra Ke Utsav Ki Ankahi Kahani, written by former Chief Election Commissioner SY Quraishi.

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"I used to say it earlier, but now I hesitate to say it because I am out of politics. Dynasty in democracy is nasty, but it is tasty to some people. That is a weakness of our system," he said.

Naidu's remarks, though he did not name anyone, came in the context of Congress scion Rahul Gandhi saying at an event at the University of California, Berkeley, in the United States, that most political parties in India followed a dynastic rule, and that was how things worked in India.

Responding to a question on India’s “dynastic politics”, Rahul had said:

It’s a problem in all political parties in India. Most of the country runs like this, so don’t go after me – Akhilesh Yadav a dynast, Mr Stalin a dynast, Mr (Prem Kumar) Dhumal’s son a dynast, so don’t just go after me... Even Mr Abhishek Bachchan is a dynast, also Mr Ambani – that’s what happens in India.

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“I don’t have any particular party in mind, as someone recently said that everybody is trying to follow each other. The point is that in a democracy, character, calibre, capacity, and conduct (should matter), and not caste, community or cash,” said Naidu.

Towards the end of his speech, Naidu observed in a lighter vein that he had a "weakness for speaking frankly", but that tendency will have to be curtailed, as now "my people tell me that I’m the Vice President of India, and there is a protocol (to be followed)".

(With inputs from IANS)

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