Daijiworld Media Network - Udupi (HB)

Udupi, Dec 12: In the current political scenario, the definition of democracy has changed from being 'of the people, by the people and for the people' to 'of some, by some and for some of the people', said former Lokayukta Justice Santosh Hegde.

He was speaking at 'World Heart Convention-2016' at Rajangana, Sri Krishna Temple here on Sunday December 11.

"There was a time when people had faith in the Constitution. They had formed an institution called the 'constituent assembly' for the country, which was meant to solve the problems of the people. The kind of political system to be adopted was also seriously thought of. The current government's thoughts are contrary to those of our forefathers. The democratic system of the government after 1947 was 'of the people, by the people and for the people'. Now, 70 years later, the system has changed to 'of some, by some and for some of the people'. We need to have government that makes every Indian feel 'this government is created for me'," he said.

Speaking on the deadlock in the parliament, he said, "No discussion has been held all these days, due to which the country has lost more than Rs 10 crore a day. Executive, legislature and judiciary are the pillars of Indian democracy but the value of those pillars is declining. No elected representative is working for the people. This indicates that values of our ancestors are fading away. Politicians have forgotten their duties and responsibilities. 

"A former Karnataka Lokayukta was recently chargesheeted in a corruption case for the first time in history. It is undoubtedly and absolutely certain that there is a presence of the executive body in most of the scams," he said.

"What about our judicial system? A simple case needs 10 years to sort out in the court, but no one is anwerable to this. It is a big disaster for the country. I am confident that this will change in future. Moral values are declining in every nook and corner of the society," he said. Hegde also that he had no hope in his contemporaries. "I believe in the young generation, as children understand the ground reality of society. There are hundreds of educational institutions, which are enough to change society.

"Absolute peace is necessary in society. Greed is a disease of the people today who are amassing money. Everyone must adopt the virtues of contentment and humanism in life. One must be ambitious. There is nothing wrong in becoming rich by earning money in the right way within the framework of the law, but no one must take away another's life in order to make money," he added.

Hegde further added, "Lots of scams have come to light like 2G spectrum, coal, mining, chopper, land scams and many more and the country has lost crores of money. How can a country possibly achieve development in such a system?

"I have seen the many difficulties of people at grassroots after being appointed as Lokayukta and this changed my life. Be human first by adopting humanity in life. That will bring respect. When a person gets a chance to help others in difficulty, he should take it. Lack of humanity and greed to hoard could be disastrous to the nation. So, it is high time we introspect," he said.

District in-charge minister Pramod Madhwaraj said, "The election system is the main reason for corruption. If a person works honestly and sincerely, God will bless him. Sincerity is important to work with courage. Corrupt people should be severely punished. Society will not change till people start questioning wrongdoings. A man becomes rich only when he believes in God."