Would India benefit from a Presidential govt?

I do not share the view that India would benefit from a Presidential system of governance. India is a vast democracy - the largest in the world and cannot be run by a single president. Empowering one person to wield this much power could have dangerous consequences. Especially here, with people of divergent cultures, languages and points of view. India reeds representation for all these people which is only possible in the current system. To find a President who is worthy of a country with a history such as ours, who can be trusted to run the country satisfactorily is a great risk. As the saying goes- power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. 
—Majeed Memon, MP, Rajya Sabha

I do not think a Presidential system is a good idea, which would concentrate all power in an elected President. We have seen the outcome of such a model in the United States, now that Donald Trump is in power. The parliamentary system, with a Prime Minister, even with its faults is better due to a better distribution of power. One may argue that PM Modi has emerged very powerful, but that is only due to his party’s backing and the current circumstances. He would not be as powerful on his own. With the kind of pluralism India boasts, the current system works best. It will not be able to elect and influence other bodies such as the judicial system and the election commission like Trump can. We have been independent for a long time now, and we should not let anyone take that away from us.
—Kamal Mitra Chenoy, Professor of Politics, JNU

In my opinion, the Presidential form of government would be unsuitable and impractical for India. If we look at a state like Maharashtra, for example, we have not even reached a stage whereby we can directly elect the Mayor. Directly electing the President of a nation is an absurd idea. Our democracy has evolved in a different way, and the Parliamentary system is here to stay. Instead of floating ideas of changing the system of governance, we should try to strengthen participation in the current system and make it more result oriented.
—Sudheendra Kulkarni, Observer Research Foundation Mumbai

As told to Dipshikha Ghosh