No people-centred governance in country

Kochi : Senior journalist T.V.R. Shenoy has said that residues of a king-centred governance prevail in the country even six decades after the formation of the Parliament.

People-centred governance is yet to happen in the country.

Indian democracy often passes through royalty and autocracy, Mr. Shenoy said while delivering the Mathai Manjooran memorial lecture on the 6oth birthday of Indian democracy at the Kerala Press Academy here on 14 th May 18, 2012, Monday.

Media's role

He said that except for one or two parties, the other prominent parties in the country are driven by dynasty politics.

This sabotaged the ideas of those who framed the Constitution. The country is passing through a political atmosphere devoid of inner-party democracy. Mr. Shenoy observed that the media played a prominent role in propagating that differences of opinion amounted to lack of discipline and was against democracy.

Mr. Shenoy said that India was perhaps the only democratic country in the world where the electorate exercised their franchise without any idea about who will be their Chief Minister or the Prime Minister.

A person need not even successfully contest and get elected to the Lok Sabha to become a minister. The scribe opined that the anti-defection law infringed on the right of people's representatives to cast conscience vote.

Earlier, he gave away the V. Karunakaran Nambiar Award to Malayala Manorama reporter Sujith Nair. Senior journalist K.M. Roy presided. Kerala Press Academy chairman N.P. Rajendran and secretary V.G. Renuka were among those present.