New Delhi: Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has to prove to the public that it can fulfil the promises made by it if it wants to get re-elected, Indian-born member of UK`s House of Lords, Karan Bilimoria, said on Wednesday even as he lauded India for its robust democratic ideals.
India is where the real democracy is, Bilimoria said, adding that it was a country where a party could start from scratch and, within one year, win a state election. His reference was to AAP and its feat in the recent Delhi Assembly polls.
"India is where the real democracy is... This is where a party can start from nothing and within one year win a state election... India`s democracy is so robust... People vote much more (here) than they do in a country like Britain," Bilimoria said during a session at the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas, 2014.
"They (AAP) have to demonstrate that they are not a protest party and can actually execute and govern as that is the key... Can they deliver, we have to wait and see," said Bilimoria, the founder and chairman of Cobra Beer.
A lot of political parties keep coming up in the UK, Bilimoria said, but never had one seen a party start from nothing to storm to power within one year.
Asked about the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections and his prediction as to which party would come to power, Bilimoria said it was difficult to make a forecast.
"India`s landscape is so diverse. The regional parties are very strong in their own states. Of course, there are two big parties, Congress and BJP, and now one has got new parties like AAP which have come up in such a quick way," he said.
Meanwhile, asked about the challenges facing NRIs looking to do business in India, Bilimoria said that in that regard, the UK and India were "separate worlds".
"The licence raj needs to be dismantled... Anyone doing business in India will face that, but the faster it is dismantled the better... Generally, there is far too much bureaucracy in India," he said.
