The time has come to cleanse the system of various ills, he said while interacting with students

Expressing concern over frequent disruptions in Parliament and state legislatures, Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu has said that such dysfunctional legislatures strike at the root of the principle of parliamentary democracy

Pointing out that Parliamentarians and legislators had every right to criticize the government, the Vice President stressed that they should never cross the Lakshman Rekha (line) of ‘decency, decorum and dignity’ while making a point.

The Vice President, who is also Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, was interacting with students of Political Leadership and Governance from Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda on Monday.

People must select and elect their representatives on the basis of four all-important qualities or Cs—Character, Conduct, Calibre and Capacity, VP Naidu said, according to an official press release.

“Unfortunately, our electoral system is getting vitiated with the replacement of these 4Cs by another set of undesirable 4 Cs— caste, community, cash and criminality”, he added.

Naidu said he had always wanted youth to not only take active interest in politics, but to join politics with enthusiasm and serve people with sincerity, discipline and dedication.

He said, unfortunately, there has been a sharp erosion of values and standards over the years in all fields, including politics.

“The time has come to cleanse the system of various ills that are plaguing it and promote high ethical and moral standards in all walks of life,” the Vice President said.

'Leverage India's demographic advantage'

India’s demographic advantage should be leveraged fully to fast-track development and build a resurgent New India, the Vice President said during the interaction.

He said 65 per cent of the country’s population was below the age of 35 years.

Effective leadership was an indispensable requirement in every field for India to scale greater heights in the coming years, he told the students.

During the interaction, Vice President Naidu also observed that as the largest democracy in the world, India’s Parliament and legislatures should set an example to others.

In this context, he stressed the need to strengthen parliamentary democracy and deepen the processes for good governance as the country celebrated 75 years of Independence.