Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Sunday accused the Centre of destroying India's democratic institutions and said the country is turning into an "electoral dictatorship".
He also took an apparent dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and said there has been talk of only one person in the last 10 years and that the country now needs an alternative leadership that will understand people's needs and find solutions to their problems.
Tharoor, also an author, made the remarks during a discussion on the book titled "Audacious Hope: How to Save a Democracy" by Indrajit Roy, at the 17th Jaipur Literature Festival here.
"We have a parliamentary system which is run by the President. And we should remember the Congress' slogan of 2014 -- 'Not I, We'," the Congress leader said.
"However, we have heard a lot of I, my, myself in the last 10 years. There has been talk of only one person," he said without taking any name.
Tharoor said the antidote of this "I" is to create a different kind of leadership, which does not just boast about itself, but "listens to you with complete humility, talks about you, understands your needs and addresses them".
He said that democracy is facing a "real crisis" today.
