“Indian system bent, didn’t break,” said Congress MP Shashi Tharoor as he commended India’s resilient democracy in the wake of the recent Gen Z protests.
“In Bangladesh and Sri Lanka the rulers couldn’t face the situation and had to flee, and new rulers came in. Nepal also saw a regime change but not the same as in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. Here there were fresh elections and a new government came in. In Pakistan the military took over and installed what we call a puppet government. Military took over in Myanmar. “No one expected the BJP government, which has been impervious to public demands for resignations, to respond. The Opposition has asked for resignations at least half a dozen times. Nothing happened. Suddenly, you have a minister’s resignation. The recognition that democracy needs to be nimble enough to recognise a public reality and respond to it is a tribute to the Indian system.
He added that due to a functioning and strong democratic set-up, the government had to respond to the demands of the young protesters.
Read | Amid Flood, Nepal Minister Talks About ‘Action-Oriented’ ‘Rockstar’ PM Shah The response of the Indian polity to the anger of the youth, Tharoor said, gives him hope as an opposition leader.
