Can the presidential form of government clean up the muck in India politics?

Members of the Jury, my fellow contestant, ladies and gentlemen. My name is Abhay Mangaldas.
First, I'd like to thank the Times of India for taking this initiative and giving me this platform…
The subject today..
"Can a Presidential form of government clear the muck in Indian politics?"
I have just three minutes so I will jump right into it.
On the outset, the Presidential model has some salient features.
Let me quickly list those that I feel are the important ones… and do excuse me if it sounds a bit technical.
One : To start with, voters play a role in selection of candidates … just like what we are doing in this contest. This ensures that only the deserving get a ticket and not a goon with a connection.
Two : Voters also decide who leads the government. Its akin to our choosing the Chief Minister and the Prime Minister and not leaving it to our representatives. This would take care of all the horse-trading that goes on in our system.
Three : The elected leaders have a predefined term in office. This can provide stability and allow them to focus on their job, something our leaders can rarely do.
Four : The voter representation in government is proportional to the votes won … and not on the constituencies won. This ensures that the majority always carries a stronger voice, unlike what we have in India.
So, to sum this first bit up, I think we would do well to adopt these features in our political system and perhaps come up with a hybrid model that combines the best of both the Presidential and the Parliamentarian systems.
But will just electoral reforms clear the muck?
No.
Muck exists in all politics, regardless of the system. It has become the nature of the beast.
Our disappointment with politicians and public servants at large has to do with our perception of what we assume motivates people to enter public service.
We expect them all to be Gandhiwadees who make this choice for the love of the motherland. We forget that they breathe the same air as you and me…. they have a family to feed and aspirations to meet.
Think about it…
Would you want to be a servant… a public one at that?
Would you want a job that pays peanuts and provides no job security?
Its time we drop this hypocrisy.
Politics and public service come with huge responsibilities and awesome challenges… they should be an attractive career option for any bright person if they had commiserate salary packages, performance incentives, merit based promotions… just as in private enterprise…
The government can actually become a professionally run organization…. As it should be.
In conclusion, not only do we need electoral reforms …. And we can look to the Presidential system for some of them… but we also need to review and restructure the compensation packages and human resource management within the government.
I believe that only do we have a good chance to get rid of the muck.