Ranchi, Mar 5: “All politicians are not bad” and they should not be assessed on the basis of a few MPs leveling charges and counter charges before the media without checking facts, Union Minister Rajeev Shukla said on Sunday .
“Only 10 to 12 MPs always come before the media to give bytes, and one should not assess the image of politicians on the basis of those statements,” Shukla, minister of state for Parliamentary Affairs, said here.
Addressing a book release function at Raj Bhavan in the presence of Governor Syed Ahmed and Chief Minister Arjun Munda, he said there were about 150 MPs who had graduated from top universities and were experts in various subjects.
“But you don't find them often speaking before the media,” he said.
Calling upon professionals from various fields to join politics and shape its image, he said doctors, engineers and other professionals entering politics would augur well for the field.
“But if professional don't join politics they don't have the right to criticise politicians. Because political space, which you (professional) could occupy, would not remain vacant,” he said.
Praising the efforts by a group of writers in bringing out the first volume on MLAs/MPs from Bihar/Jharkhand since 1952, Shukla said such books would help change the people's perception, based on media reports, and they will understand that “all politicians are not bad”.
Referring to how leaders in the past used to walk down to Parliament or take public buses to reach the House, Shukla urged politicians not to hurl baseless charges without bothering to check their facts.
“Media will take whatever a politician says...then charges and counter charges follow, emanating a feeling of some irregularity (in politics),” he said.
Suggesting politicians to read books to raise the standard of debate in Parliament, he said “It's not that people always want to watch breaking news saying ‘house adjourned amid din'----they also like to listen to good debates, and you can see TRP rating on Lok sabha channel.”
