President warns politicians

The awards went to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Union Minister Arjun Singh, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha L.K. Advani and Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Jaswant Singh.

The context of the President’s remarks was clear though he did not expressly refer to any. ‘‘When politics degrades itself to political adventurism, the nation would be on the calamitous road to inevitable disaster and ruination. Let us not risk it,’’ Kalam said.

Observing that people are yearning for change and expect parliamentarians to deliver the goods through appropriate policies, laws and by facilitating societal transition, the President said: ‘‘We seem to have been working with policies and procedures which are, at times, based on mistrust.’’

Urging members to distinguish between ‘‘political politics’’ and ‘‘developmental politics’’, he said the former was needed at the time of the Freedom Struggle. ‘‘What is needed for India is a mission to make it free from poverty, illiteracy and unemployment and this situation necessitates developmental politics,’’ he said.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh echoed Kalam’s concern, recounting the days when he attended Parliament as a bureaucrat and heard brilliant speakers and the best of debates. Accepting the award, he regretted the decline in standards in Parliament and called for introspection before people lost faith in the institution. ‘‘Without pointing fingers, we need to examine whether we are living up to the standards set by great parliamentarians of early years of our Independence. It is for us to ensure that we set better standards for future,’’ he said.

Even Vice-President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat lamented that public interest in parliamentary debates had gone down.

Accepting the award for 1999, Advani said Parliament should be used for raising important issues. He said ‘‘experiences of veteran parliamentarians should be utilised by all others for the benefit of the system’’. He wondered, though, if the awardees had been chosen due to their age. Jaswant Singh said parliamentarians should codify their obligations. ‘‘In parliamentary democracy, there is governance through discussion. Discussion must end at some stage so that governance starts,’’ he said.