Aditya Menon delivers inaugural address of AMU Literary Festival
Aligarh : New Delhi based journalist, Aditya Menon deliberated regional politics, election data, corporate-political nexus and issues concerning the minority communities.
He was speaking in the inaugural function of the three-day (May 20 to 22) Literary Festival of University Debating and Literary Club (UDLC), Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) at the Kennedy Hall Auditorium.
“Parliamentary democracy is characterised by a system of mutual accountability and a much-crucial deliberative process. The legislature is constitutionally obliged to hold the executive accountable. The opposition front must recognise this, in fact, even more than the government”, said Aditya.
He stressed that the opposition should be as powerful as the government—as cooperation between the government and the opposition will give credence to the system.
“It is noteworthy that in any democracy across the world, a vast populace continues to be ruled by a party they didn’t vote for which is why there is always a need for a strong opposition with a resolute allegiance to the people”, Aditya added.
He further said that a weak opposition is far more perilous than a weak government.
“It goes without saying that an irresponsible government in combination with a timid opposition spells doom. It should be clear to the party in power that the opposition parties are forces to reckon with. Hence, the opposition should continue to exist as rightful and equal participants in the process of law-making”, Aditya pointed out.
On the occasion, Prof F S Sherani (Coordinator, Cultural Education Centre) and Dr Sadaf Fareed (President, University Debating and Literary Club) felicitated Aditya with a memento.
Aditya also released the newsletter of the first day, which was presented to him by Halima Saleem (UDLC member).
Md Sabeeh Ahmad (UDLC Secretary) delivered the welcome address and Asif Saud conducted the inaugural function.
The inaugural function also featured renowned political historian, Dr Laurence Gautier in a one-on-one discussion with Zainab Naqvi.
Noted novelist and Sahitya Academy Awardee, Rehman Abbas (Mumbai); Prof Shafey Kidwai (Department of Mass Communication) and Prof Tariq Chhatari spoke in a panel discussion on ‘Social Realism and Beyond Contemporary Urdu Novels’ followed by a captivating online literary conversation between Abdul Sabur Kidwai and Dr Azra Raza.
The inaugural day will be concluded with a musical performance by ‘Red T-Rap: The Band’.