Pranab Mukherjee Pitches For Raising LS Strength To 1000; Cautions Against Majoritarianism

Hitting hard at 'majoritarianism,' the former President said that the message of Indian electorate has never been clearly understood by political players.

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New Delhi: In the wake of nationwide protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act, former President Pranab Mukherjee, on Monday, cautioned against a "majoritarian government", and suggested raising the number of seats in Lok Sabha to 1000 from the existing 543. Mukherjee also pitched for a corresponding increase in Rajya Sabha strength, as India has a "disproportionately large size" of electorate for elected representatives. Hitting hard at 'majoritarianism,' the former President said that the message of Indian electorate has never been clearly understood by political players. “We are of the view that one can do anything and everything, when we have, an overwhelming majority in the legislature. But that should not be the case,” he said. "A numerical majority in elections gives you the right to make a stable government. The lack of popular majority forbids you from (becoming) a majoritarian government. That is the message and essence of our parliamentary democracy," Mukherjee said while delivering the second Atal Bihari Vajpayee Memorial Lecture at the India Foundation here. Mukherjee also praised former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee for "seeking to taking along everyone" at a time when the present government is being accused of dividing the country. The former President also pointed out that while people have given "strong majorities" to various parties since 1952, not a single one has been elected with over 50 per cent vote share. The BJP won 38 per cent of the total votes in the Lok Sabha elections in 2019. Mukherjee called Vajpayee as a "visionary" with a good understanding of the country and its people. "India and Indians intrinsically cannot digest bigotry and division over a sustained period. We are a nation of 12,69,219 square miles, practising seven major religions, speaking 122 languages and 1,600 dialects in their everyday lives... represented by the Constitution of India,” he said. Atalji accepted this reality. He shaped his vision for everyone, seeking to take everyone along even though many may not have agreed with his ideological inclinations," he said.