Day after Maha Assembly chaos, Naidu asks legislators to maintain decorum

Panaji, March 4:  A day after Governor Bhagat Singh Koshiyari was forced to stop his speech midway in the Maharashtra Assembly amid chaos caused by legislators, Vice-President M. Venkaiah Naidu on Friday said such incidents would cause disillusionment about democracy in the country.

Naidu, while speaking at the inauguration of a Durbar Hall at the Goa Raj Bhavan, expressed concern over the lack of legislative decorum in some state Assemblies as well as in Parliament.

"We see certain incidents happening in Parliament -- both in the Lok Sabha as well as the Rajya Sabha, called the Upper House -- certain events in legislatures and incidents that are happening during the Governor's address, and the violent turn that is taking place in specific places during certain protests," the Vice-President said.

"This should be totally avoided because it will weaken democracy. People will get disillusioned if such things happen. Governor is a constitutional authority, legislature is an elected body. Parliament is a supreme place where laws are being made. We should respect all these institutions as they are institutions," he added.

"In a democracy, if you don't like any address you can criticise after the address is over. If you don't like a Budget you can criticise the Budget fully in whatever manner in a democratic system. Then if you don't want a government you have to be patient, you can educate and protest peacefully and wait for your turn. You must have patience to respect the mandate of the people," Naidu said, appealing to all parties to avoid violence.

"...let the government propose, the opposition oppose and the House dispose. That is the only way. There is no other way. Either you talk out or you walk out but don't allow 'break out' of the institutions. This is my advice on this occasion to all the people. See to it that we maintain standards, follow ethics and do justice to our duty and thereby do justice to the people of the country," he added.

The Vice-President urged the elected representatives to ensure that "dignity, standards, morals and ethics are maintained in public life".