Democracy can’t be restricted to elections only: Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Thursday, said ” it’s matter of sorrow that both house of Parliament is not running”.

“People only talk about GST and Parliament but there are also several other measures for the poor that are pending in Parliament”, he insisted. “Democracy can not function at the whims and fancies of anyone”.

Just a few days earlier, the Prime Minister had commented that Parliament was running smoothly and “all parties deserved credit” for it.

Democracy if is limited to people voting during election then it becomes weak.

Speaking at the Jagran Forum organized by the Dainik Jagran newspaper here, he said that democratic institutions and systems can run well only if people listened to other people’s ideas and assimilated them while diluting their own hard-held views.

“I want to make India’s development journey a mass movement. Whatever needs to occur with the GST, it will be performed in examination with everybody to decide the fate of India but what about the bad, exactly what about the common man”, he stated. Today Indian democracy faces danger in the form of “Mantantra” and “Moneytantra”.

“No much importance will be given to his visit”, said the mutt authorities.

I am not much anxious about the passing of GST but I am not happy with the way disruptions in Parliament are not allowing my government to raise minimum salary.

My government plans to raise the minimum salary from Rs. 7,000 to Rs. 21,000 so that people can avail bonus. There can not be a bigger forum than Parliament for discussion, debate and communication.

“Everyone must feel he or she is working for India’s progress”, he said, adding the most important need for the growth of democracy was “awareness”. He said this model of “Jan-Andolan” should be applied to the country’s development process as well. He also cited the example of the “Give it Up” campaign, under which more than 52 lakh people had so far given up their LPG subsidies and helped the government to provide LPG connections to 46 lakh people who were dependent on “chulhas”.

India’s economy has been strengthened by small and medium scale enterprises which employ around 12 to 14 crore people.