The electoral system needed to be reformed to strengthen the representative character of democracy as presently people were left with no alternative to convey their disapproval of the elected Representatives' performance, except by waiting till the next elections, he told a seminar here.
"To my mind, to begin with, the people must have the power to recall their elected representatives in the event the latter are not acting in tune with their (people's) interests. This will send a message to political parties and to the politicians who do not follow the norms of democracy in the electoral arena," he said.
The seminar "Strengthening Parliamentary Democracy" was held in the Assembly as part a two-day programme to celebrate the platinum jubilee of the institution in which Union Minister of State for Urban Development Saugata Roy, West Bengal Panchayat Minister Subrata Mukherjee and three other MLAs were the speakers.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, her cabinet colleagues, Leader of the Opposition Suryakanta Mishra, Assembly Speakers of different states, who were invited to the programme beginning today were present among others during the debate.
There was an urgent need to take the initiative to "restore the democracy on track and winning back confidence of the people", Chatterjee observed, saying "political reforms must be central to the overall reform of our society".
Stressing the importance of parliamentary democracy, he said inspite of the aberrations in the system, as reflected in the criminalisation of politics, rampant corruption and nepotism... All have led to the decline of the representative institutions in the country.
"Today, Parliament and state Assemblies, which are central to our polity and symbols of our national unity, are facing a severe crisis of credibility and confidence," Chatterjee said.