New Delhi [India], November 3 : Congress leader Rashid Alvi on Monday said that in a democracy, it is ultimately the people who decide who will be voted to power, adding that no one can be barred from contesting elections simply because of their family background, as such patterns exist across various fields.
Alvi made the remarks in response to Congress MP Shashi Tharoor's essay criticising dynastic politics.
"The public makes the decisions in a democracy. You cannot impose a restriction that says you cannot contest elections because your father was an MP. This is happening in every field. What way will you find for this?" Alvi told ANI.
Earlier, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor criticised "dynastic" politics in India, terming it a "grave threat" to democracy, and said it is "high time" the nation moves towards "meritocracy".
In an article titled 'Indian Politics Are a Family Business' on Project Syndicate portal, Tharoor termed "dynastic politics, a threat to Indian democracy", and argued that India must move to "merit-based leadership", a view that may be seen as a swipe at the Congress high command and its INDIA bloc allies like Samajwadi Party (SP), Rashtriya Janta Dal (RJD) and Shiv Sena (UBT).In the NDA, Tharoor said that the leader of the Lok Janshakti Party, Ram Vilas Paswan, was succeeded by his son, Chirag Paswan.
With just two days left for the Bihar assembly polls, Tharoor wrote that, from India's first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, to Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi, and current leaders Rahul Gandhi and MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, the idea has been strengthened that leadership in Indian politics can be a "birthright".
"For decades, one family has towered over Indian politics. The influence of the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty - including independent India's first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, prime ministers Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi, and current opposition leader Rahul Gandhi and MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra - is bound up with the history of India's struggle for freedom. But it has also cemented the idea that political leadership can be a birthright," he said in a direct attack on Congress.
He also called out Congress' INDIA bloc allies over dynastic politics, mentioning Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray, his son Aaditya Thackeray, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, who is the son of former Uttar Pradesh CM Mulayam Singh Yadav. In Jammu and Kashmir, he pointed out the three generations of Abdullahs, and in Tamil Nadu, he highlighted that CM MK Stalin is the son of the late chief minster M Karunanidhi, adding that the family "controls" the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) party.