Zee Media Bureau/Manisha Singh
New York: Showcasing Indian democracy here, BJP leader and Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha, Arun Jaitley said on Thursday that there was huge anti-incumbency mood in the country against the UPA government.
Speaking at the International Peace Institute in New York, Jaitley said that though one generally avoided talking on domestic issues while travelling abroad, he could not but help touch upon the topic as the next General Elections were only few months away.
"There is huge, more than what we accepted, anti-incumbency mood in the country. Infact it is unprecedented," he said, adding, "It is the mood where angry people are extremely keen to vote a government out. They are in search for alternatives."
Raking up the issue of dynastic politics, the BJP leader said, "In dynastic politics, party becomes a crowd around a family." He was also of the view that past few elections in India had been about governance.
Hailing Indian democracy, Jailtley said that there was equal spread of political power in India and equal checks and balances. He also maintained that the nature of Indian politics was inclusive and the conduct of free and fair elections in the country was remarkable.
However, he did accept that growth and development had not reached everywhere. "Tribal regions of Central India are deprived regions and one of the problems of Maoism in the area maybe because of that. But at the same time Jaitley said that Maoism was not only related to poverty. "It is also an attempt to overthrow India`s democratically elected polity," he said and denounced their use of arms.
Jaitley also touched upon the issue of terrorism and called it a serious problem. "India has also been a target of cross-border terrorism. A lot of our resources have been spent on both these problems," he said.
Hinting at Pakistan, Jaitley commented, "Dialogue and terror cannot co-exist."
