By IANS,
Agartala : Rejecting the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) proposal of presidential system of governance in India, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee said here that the Congress is keen on strengthening the parliamentary system of democracy.
“We strongly oppose the BJP’s proposal of presidential form of governance. The Congress has always in favour of parliamentary system of democracy and we are working to further strengthen the system,” Mukherjee told IANS Thursday night.
“Democracy could be more prosper through the existing parliamentary system of egalitarianism,” he added.
Mukherjee was here Thursday to address a series of public meetings in support of the Congress candidates for the April 23 Lok Sabha elections to the two constituencies in Tripura.
The Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) has also strongly opposed the idea of a presidential system of governance.
Speaking in Kolkata earlier this week, CPI-M general secretary Prakash Karat said his party was opposed to the presidential system of governance, which would be “authoritarian”.
Although Mukherjee echoed Karat’s views, the minister ridiculed the Left parties’ claim of forming the government at the centre.
“After the elections, a telescope would be required to find out the strength of the Left parties’ MPs in the Lok Sabha,” Mukherjee said.
“Though the BJP is younger than the CPI-M, the former has formed government at the centre and in many states. The Left movement started in India in 1920 and in 90 years the Left Front has not been able to cross the borders of West Bengal, Kerala and Tripura,” the Congress leader said at the public meetings.
Criticising the CPI-M’s advocacy for an independent foreign policy, Mukherjee said: “All the Congress governments headed by Indira Gandhi to Manmohan Singh have been following a sovereign foreign policy.”
The minister was all praise for Congress President Sonia Gandhi.
“While a politician crawled from door to door to become a deputy minister, Sonia Gandhi, with her enormous kindness, sacrificed the post of prime minister and supported Manmohan Singh as he is a great economist,” said Mukherjee.