Democracy cannot be allowed to falter: President

President Pratibha Patil on Sunday said Indian democracy "cannot be allowed to falter" at a time when democracies of the world are operating in the complex situations including fractured mandates and explosion of the media.

"The big challenge is for democracy to proceed towards being a vibrant but health democracy. It is therefore necessary to walk ahead carefully, with determination," she said addressing a function in the historic Central Hall of Parliament to mark its 60th anniversary.

Noting that democracies of the world are operating in complex situations, she said, "There is always the requirement of finding a balance between various expectations. There are no fractured mandates. Governments are mostly  coalitions and legislatures are composed of many parties."

She said, "There has been regional aspirations as well and the last decade has also seen the explosion of the media."

She said elections are the foundation stone of any democracy and added, "we must constantly improve our systems and remove all corrupt and other malpractices from our electoral processes and from our society."

"Democracy cannot be allowed to falter, for it is the very essence of our nationhood," she noted.

She said, "Discussions can be difficult and divergent but yet solutions have to be found through discussions in Parliament and resolved through established Parliamentary practices."