Mangaluru: Former Lokayukta Justice N Santhosh Hegde opined that the veto power granted to the five members of the United Nations Security Council was not correct as their opinion may not be the opinion of all other countries.
He was addressing the gathering at the valedictory programme of a three-day-long educational simulation ‘SAPMUN’, organised by St Aloysius Pre-University College at its college premises on Sunday, November 3. Hegde said, “Any one of the five permanent members have the power of veto, which enables them to prevent the adoption of any “substantive” draft Council resolution, regardless of its level of international support. “As I believe in democracy, I don’t agree with this system of providing veto power to the five permanent members of the United Nations Organisations (UNO). Such a system is contradictory to the views of democracy.”
Meanwhile, he informed that the elected representatives should possess human values and be committed to their duties. Commenting on the Lok Sabha sessions, wherein a single issue has not been discussed for 14 days, Hegde said, “The government is spending around Rs 10 crore for a Lok Sabha session. But, MPs who have the responsibility to rectify the grievances of the public, had wasted 14 days, without discussing any issues in Parliament. Such an attitude by an elected representative is not acceptable,” he said.
Hegde further called upon students to inculcate social values which are the only way to respect our democracy. “Never fall victim to the greed, but possess humanism throughout your life, which will definitely help you to attain a high position in your life,” he said.
Earlier student coordinator Letitia D’Costa welcomed the gathering and Sameeksha Pramod Shetty compered the programme. Principal Clifford Sequeira, Vice Principals’ Shalet D’Souza, Murali Krishna, secretary-general Sasha D’Souza, director-general Azaan Ibrahim, and others were present.