On Monday 13 Nov 2006 7:36 pm, Venkat Mangudi wrote: > I > believe the last time they conducted a poll, there was an overwhelming > majority that opposed it. Is this how democracy works?
"How democracy works" is a cliche that has been beaten senseless to the point where the actual mode of functioning of a democracy is often forgotten. The majority of Brits do not support the war in Iraq, but they have an elected government that is empowered to make certain decisions. In a democracy the government does not have to get back to the people for every single decision. They are elected for a period and and the representatives represent their constituents. I bet that a far larger percentage of people support a change of name to Bengalooru than the proportion that support a rise in fuel prices due to some Cess or other. Whether the government is right or wrong in collecting a Cess for building say, a metro railway, is moot. But yes, that IS how democracy works. shiv
