Democracy cannot function at whims and fancies of anyone: PM Narendra Modi

NEW DELHI: With Congress continuing to disrupt the Rajya Sabha on the National Herald issue, and the GST bill’s fate hanging in the balance, Prime Minister Narendra Modi appeared to take digs at the party’s vice-president Rahul Gandhi, saying democracy cannot function on anybody’s "whims and fancies". Though the government has not ruled out the possibility of the passage of the GST bill this session, the PM’s missive leaves little room for optimism.

Speaking at a media event, Modi said, "you must have seen that these days this (disruptions) is being seen more often. Meri Marzi (my wish). I will do whatever comes to my mind. Does the country run like this? Democracy does not function with ‘Mantantra (one’s whim). The country does not run on its basis. Whatever you may think but the system does not run like this." Modi, however, did not name either the Congress or the Nehru-Gandhi family.

"It is a matter of sorrow that the poor are not being able to get their rights due to Parliament not functioning. However, the talk is only centred on GST versus Parliament. Whatever has to happen with the GST, it will be done in consultation with everybody to decide the fate of India but what about the poor, what about the common man," he asked. He maintained that a democracy cannot be restricted to holding of elections and formation of governments alone. Along with ‘mantantra’, there is also the danger of ‘dhantantra’ (money power), he said.