Sunday, December 4 2005 18:53 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Chennai: Joining issue with Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee on the right to recall elected representatives, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Vice-President, Venkaiah Naidu, today (December 4, 2005), said the idea was "impossible and impracticable" in a country like India.

"A developing country like India cannot afford to have it as of now as people are already suffering and are fed up with frequent elections," he told reporters here this evening after visiting some flood-affected areas of the city along with state leaders.

Stating that the Speaker had spoken like this "out of agony," Naidu recalled Chatterjee's observations at a seminar in Hyderabad yesterday, and said "the weaknesses in the Parliamentary system should be taken care of and the full tenure of these bodies should be ensured instead."

Naidu said though the anti-defection law had prevented "retail defections," there were still "wholesale defections" in some states.

The BJP leader said all political parties must agree to have a "voluntary code of conduct" in discharging their duties in Parliament and State Assemblies.

"Everything should be discussed in a constructive way and Congress party must ensure that this rule was followed even in states where it was in the opposition."