On his last days as Vice President Hamid Ansari has said while democracy has taken deep root in the country, the functioning of political institutions in the country was not at its best.
In a wide-ranging interview to Karan Thapar on Rajya Sabha TV channel, Hamid Ansari spoke on a range of subjects including his relations with the Prime Minister, criticisms he received from BJP General Secretary Ram Madhav, racist attacks on Africans, cow vigilante attacks, mob lynching, accusations of love-jihad and demands that everyone must say Bharat Mata Ki Jai.
He also put forth his views on whether India is becoming intolerant, Supreme Court and Madras High Court rulings about the National Anthem and Vande Mataram, his recent speech on how cultural nationalism can promote intolerance and arrogant patriotism, the mood of the muslim community, triple talaq, the need for affirmative action for muslims and the apprehension that in the present circumstances India's muslims could embrace Al Qaeda and ISIS in larger numbers.
In part two, Ansari talked about his handling of the Rajya Sabha and why he could not impose greater discipline and be tougher with unruly members.
Below is a select transcript of the interview"
Q: And is that because of an individual responsibility, presumably it must beIJ
Ansari: Well, collectively yes. Not individually, but collectively.
Q: So, has the quality of the people who man institutions deteriorated, as the institutions themselves have become more establishedIJ
Ansari: No, the quality has not deteriorated but the mannerisms have changed. I mean, you could not imagine, for example, in early mid 50s or even in 60s, disruptions of the kind that take place in the House today
Q: Now, you've spent 10 years as Vice President, and as I said, no one has spent more time as Vice President than that - what did it mean to you, a career diplomat, to be Vice President of IndiaIJ
Ansari: Well, I said right in the beginning that every citizen is in a sense, a political creature. But being in the thick of things was a new experience, a novel experience.
Q: Did the protocol, did the prestige become inhibiting for someone who was quite a free birdIJ Or was it something that you were to accustomed to as a High Commissioner and as an AmbassadorIJ
Ansari: Well, yes but it was a different kind of constraint which one went through as the representative of the country. This was a different kind of thing - there were constraints on movement and things like that for understandable reasons. One had to live with it.
(To be broadcast today at 8.00 pm on Rajya Sabha TV)