'Numerical Majority Only To Form Stable And Not Majoritarian Govt': Ex-President Pranab Mukherjee

"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.

"This message of the Indian electorate has never been clearly understood by political players. That is why we think we can do anything and everything when we have an overwhelming majority in the legislature. But that should not be the case," he said, asserting that people have often punished such incumbents in the past.

Mukherjee also praised former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee for "seeking to take 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 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.

"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.

Speaking on the topic "Has parliamentary democracy succeeded in India and the challenges ahead", the former president, who served between 2012-17, also questioned the rationale behind a new Parliament building, a demand that has come from many quarters.

"I seriously wonder, how a new Parliament building is going to help or improve the working of the parliamentary system in India," he said.

If the strength of Lok Sabha is increased to 1,000, then the Central Hall can be converted into the Lower House and Rajya Sabha can be shifted to the current Lok Sabha, he added.

He cited the lack of adequate woman representatives in Parliament as one of the "shortcomings".

(With inputs from agencies)