India's democracy would certainly suffer if lawmakers continue to switch parties frequently to stay in power, as warned by former vice president Venkaiah Naidu, experts say.
Naidu on Wednesday said lawmakers should not change parties frequently and warned that party-hopping could lead to people losing interest in politics, which would be bad for democracy.
"My advice to the young politicians, students -- join politics. Be constructive and attentive. Do not change parties frequently. Nowadays it is difficult to understand who is in which party. I go around the country and I take names of people and mention their parties, but other people correct me that a particular person is no longer in that party," he said while addressing a function of the 13th 'Bharatiya Chhatra Sansad' organized by the MIT School of Government and MIT World Peace University.
Reacting to the issue, Dr Misbahul Anzar, Assistant Professor, Maulana Azad National Urdu University, Hyderabad, told Sputnik India that the views expressed by Naidu are very strong and all the mainstream political parties in India must take note of them.
"It's a matter of priority, and political leaders across parties must do a reality check on themselves whether the leaders are dedicated to serve the nation the way the party wants them to," he said, adding that switching parties quite often makes it amply clear that such leaders do not have any ideology.
"It's the power that attracts them and the sense of responsibility to work constructively as an opposition leader is missing among many if not all," the educationist said.
Despite the fact that India has an anti-defection law, which aims to prevent defections motivated by office, material benefits or other considerations and applies to both Parliament and state assemblies, the practice continues, forcing leaders like Naidu to remind them that it could have a negative impact on the country's hard-earned vibrant democracy.
"I agree with the former vice president when he says that switching parties by political leaders could harm our democratic setup, and appeal to all concerned to look into the issue before it's too late," a college student who requested anonymity said.
He believed that every political party has its own ideology and that whoever joins it joins that ideology. Changing it often reveals that the person is more interested in power and has very little to do with serving the nation.
"It is my advice to budding politicians. Stick to the ideology. If the leader becomes arrogant and dictator, then discuss within the party and take a decision. This is the way. Otherwise, people will lose respect for politics," he concluded.