Chennai: What happened in Tamil Nadu Assembly on Saturday was the worst in recent memory and it essentially shows a “thumb to the voter,” Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry Kiran Bedi told News18.
“Will voter’s memory be short or long? Is their vote a transaction or for transformation? Who is the voice for the non-aligned?” Bedi asked.
When asked if she was saying this in the specific context of Tamil Nadu, she said that her comments were applicable across the country.
“But Tamil Nadu is an immediate provocation for this expression of anguish,” Bedi told this reporter.
“I have said it all. It's of course the recent worst. Again as I say public memory is short. I recall certain Assemblies earlier too witnessing such kind of mayhem. But we have forgotten and forgiven...perhaps elected back those who broke the law with impunity. Which is why doing so is showing a thumb to the voter. We are yet to mature in our democracy. The voters are not realising the value of their vote. And the responsibility behind it. A promise of cheap or freebies, even a free wifi is enough to entice him to vote for someone he does not really know. He does not understand he will repay it with compound interest. And in more demanding conditions. Nothing is free. We all pay for everything, poor or rich equally. And poor more for they cannot afford to,” she said.
Bedi, an anti-corruption crusader and one of the founding members of India Against Corruption, has been outspoken in her recent stint as the LG of Puducherry.
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