Mysuru: Giving a call to the youth to boycott the corrupt in the country in all walks of life to build a healthy society, former Supreme Court Judge and former Lokayukta Justice Santosh Hegde said that if the youth have to earn wealth it should be within the limits of the law and not by amassing it illegally.

He was delivering the ‘Late K. Puttaswamy Memorial Endowment Lecture’ on the topic “What is left of Democracy in India?” organised by the Vidyavardhaka Law College at its premises on Seshadri Iyer Road, here this morning and said that plundering  nation’s wealth at the cost of the poor is an inhuman act.

“When the Constitution of the country was framed nearly 70 years ago, 80 per cent of country was illiterate. Hence, the Architect of the Constitution Dr. B.R. Ambedkar in his wisdom had not made educational qualifications compulsory for politicians to fight elections. However, things have changed and the way the elected representatives function in the Parliament and Assembly has dropped to abysmal levels,” he regretted.

Referring to former Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee lamenting the falling standards in Parliament with frequent disruptions and the fight between the Ruling party and Opposition getting worse, Justice Hegde said that the Bills are passed without debates or discussions.

The bureaucrats are also caught in this web and the nexus between them and the politicians has led to large scale corruption, which has resulted in major problems in the country, he observed.

One of the strongest pillars in Indian Democracy is the Judiciary and the Supreme Court acts as the watchdog of the nation. However, allegations are being hurled at the SC Judges and even the Chief Justice of India, and the dissidence in their community is coming out in the open with the SC Judges holding press conference and with such actions the very faith in the Judiciary among the people is eroded, lamented Justice Hegde.

Unlike 70 years ago when India gained independence, 80 per cent of the people are literate and hence it is very important for the rulers to be transparent in their approach to the problems of the people. Sadly, however, the political class has become selfish and is interested only in self aggrandisement, he added.

“India is a multi-religious, multi-cultural and multi-ethnic society and the Constitution was framed keeping in view this unique character. However, a Union Minister is wanting to change this very Constitution with his Hindutva ideology,” he ridiculed.

Hence, today’s youth have a great responsibility to fight such forces and strengthen democracy and build a healthy society by being alert, said Justice Hegde.

Dr. M.K. Ramesh, Professor of Law, National Law School of India University (NLSIU), Bengaluru, also spoke. Vidyavardhaka Law College Principal Prof. K.B. Vasudeva welcomed.