Retired Supreme Court judge B. Sudarshan Reddy was critical of the language used by political parties recently during election speeches, and said mutual tolerance and institutional forbearance are the two pillars of democracy.
Abusive language resorted to against political opponents is threatening to individual dignity and the dignity of the Telangana society, he remarked, while addressing a book launch as chief guest on Tuesday.
“Democracy doesn’t get strengthened by itself through constitution and legal framework. Considering political rivals as enemies, and losing sense of proportion while criticising them is detrimental to democracy,” he said, after launching the booklet ‘Kaleshwaram Ethipothala Pathakam: Reengineering-Bhari Engineering Thappidam’ by Telangana JAC chairperson K. Raghu.
Approaching court for legal remedy is not an offence, Justice Reddy said, and wondered why the government complained about cases being filed.
He heaped rich praise on the booklet, for its balanced analysis and dignified approach.
Director, State Archives, Akunuri Murali said he, as a civil engineer, was convinced with the analysis in the book and the futility of spending thousands of crores of rupees over projects. Instead, spending on education yields better results, he said, and showed an example in China. “When I hear ₹1,000 crore, I think of improving 1,000 schools. In Western countries, even the county schools are excellent,” Mr. Murali said.
Speaking about the all pervasive fear of State reprisal, he said, as a student, he fought with the police along with fellow students without fear, because they were confident the police wouldn’t enter the campus. Now, no such protection exists.