Gandhinagar: The 2nd day of the ‘Youth Parliament of India 2018’ at Karnavati University, had two interesting sessions on the poignant themes of ‘Employment and Entrepreneurship’ and ‘One Nation, One Election’. The 2 day event, which was inaugurated Shri Amit Shah – Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha) & National President, BJP on 14th July, witnessed India’s political bigwigs, thought leaders and luminaries of diverse hues in attendance, who not only shared the centre-stage with students, but also addressed the Youth Parliament on key issues and themes.

The winners of the ‘Youth Parliament of India 2018’ were Aishwarya Jain from Shri Narayana Guru College (Digital Intolerance), Prithviraj Sinh Jhala from Institute of Law, Nirma University (Control Policies in India and their effectiveness and their reference to de-addiction from tobacco, alcohol and drugs), Kartikeya Upadhyay from HL Commerce College (Employment and Entrepreneurship) and Arham Pincha from Amrut Modi Schoolof Management (One Nation, One Election).

The first session on ‘Employment and Entrepreneurship’ at the Youth Parliament saw Dr. Kiran Bedi – Lt. Governor, Puducherry, Dr. Subramanian Swamy – Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha, Dr. Satyanarayan ‘Sam’ Pitroda – Father of Indian Telecom Revolution, Ms. Meenakshi Natarajan – Former Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha.

Speaking at the session, Dr. Satyanarayan ‘Sam’ Pitroda said, “Governments across the world are concerned about employment. But I get worried when I see that the ongoing debates here are on temples, religion and caste. Whenever you talk of employment, there is little substance and there is always political interference. Talking about our fast changing work lives, you have a 40 hour week. In cities across the world, we have more space for parking than for offices. In the future, we will not have office or parking space. Today, we’re living today not just in a connected world which can produce anything. But our economy today is about surplus and not scarcity. We keep producing for the rich and keep buying. But we don’t produce for the people who need it, and hence we’ve created in equality. It is alarming to look at the future where we create more billionaires and still a large number of people would be poor.”

“Entrepreneurship, innovation, flexible jobs and hours, working from anywhere anytime is the future and the future needs to be designed by you. You’ll have to decide how, when and what you want to do and where. Jobs will demand you to keep evolving and adapting. You have to work for longer than 40 years in your lifetime” Dr. Pitroda added.

Dr. Subramanian Swamy – Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha, speaking at the session said, “Many years ago, the then Chief Minister of Gujarat had written to the then prime minister, that the name of Ahmedabad should be changed to Karnavati. But now, since the same Chief Minister has become India’s Prime Minister, and he should make this change immediately.”

Elaborating further on employment and entrepreneurship, Dr. Swami said, “Only 5% of the Indian population is said to be unemployed, but the rest 95% population either works for 2-3 hours a day, or are on daily basis. They do not have permanent job security. Under employment is equivalent to unemployed. Modiji is working on the mirco level for resolve unemployment issues but we need to look into it at the macro level. The business schools across nation should make the students understand the value and make them passionate towards building their own businesses rather than doing a job under someone. Today’s educated youth needs to learn to innovate, learn the basis of entrepreneurship. There is no difference between any human being, despite the differences of states, languages, and gender. It is we who made the differences between men and women, because as history says, all the major positions were with women, i.e. Education was with Saraswati, Defence was with Durga and Finance was with Laxmi, whereas only Information and Broadcasting was with Naradmuni. Entrepreneurship is nothing but taking meaningful risks, think logically and then take further steps. Expectations from the government come later, first be a youth of a New India, not what the British rulers made us.”

The 2nd session on ‘One Nation, One Election’ at the Youth Parliament saw Shri Pawan Khera – Senior Leader, Indian National Congress, Dr. Sambit Patra – National Spokesperson, BJP, Shri Akhilesh Pratap Singh – National Media Panelist, Indian National Congress, Dr. Hitesh Bajpai – Chairman, Madhya Pradesh State Civil Supplies Corporation and Shri Nilesh Shah – Managing Director, Kotak Mahindra Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Speaking at the session, Shri Pawan Khera – Senior Leader, Indian National Congress said, “ Why do we need elections once in 5 years across nation? Because voting is the only weapon everyone has. Nitish Kumar himself is talking about bring the right to recall in the municipality elections, then why are talking about one elections, one nation? Modi wants one nation, one election; one nation, one religion; one nation, one language; one nation, one food; one nation, one dress. Modi is going to make a Media free, Supreme Court free, Constitution free India. Modiji is scared of having opposition, and he is scared of questions and answering questions. In the last 27 years, coalition governments have been formed and enormous progress and development has taken place. Local issues, local leaders, local elections should be our moto. Your vote is your weapon.”

Dr. Sambit Patra – National Spokesperson, BJP said, “In India, is it possible that Lok Sabha and State elections be held simultaneously? There is a rationale behind the idea of One Nation, One Election. If elections are held simultaneously, the expenses will be lesser. In 2014, the total expense on elections was Rs 3,900 crore. According to an estimate of Niti Ayog, if all the elections are conducted at the same time, the expenses will be limited to Rs 4,500 crore. As per Niti Aayog, the flow of black money will also be curbed. Niti Aayog also says that if elections are conducted the way they’ve been conducted till 2021, in a year model code of conduct will be imposed for four months. Modiji has said that when he was the CM of Gujarat, 80-90 officers used to be on election duty every month and would also have to travel to other states. Similarly ther would be other states where state government officials would be travelling on election duty every single month. This causes a severe manpower deficit in the governance. It is important to hold elections at one go to address this issue too. As a matter of fact, Congress party will benefit the most from One nation, One Election, as Rahul Gandhi will only need to campaign only once.”

The Valedictory Ceremony of the ‘Youth Parliament of India 2018’ was graced by Col. Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, AVSM (Retd.), Union Minister of State, Govt. of India, as the Chief Guest, alongwith Guests of Honour Shri Parshottam Rupala, Minister of State, Panchayati Raj, Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, Govt. of India, Shri Nitin Patel, Deputy Chief Minister of Gujarat and Sant Bhagwan Param Poojya Sahebji – President, Anoopam Mission, Mogri.

Addressing the gathering of youth, Col. Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, AVSM (Retd.), Union Minister of State, Govt. of India said, “I can see the immense potential and capabilities of the youth sitting here. The Youth has the power to change the nation.

It is the decision you make which will shape your life and character. It is most important to take a strong decision if you want to move ahead in life. India won’t become a soft target, we will also fight back. It is important to share the knowledge you gained from here on Social media. Social media is a very powerful tool for sharing knowledge and generate opinion. Social media is an open platform, and government will never put restrictions on it. Move ahead with the same energy, same freedom, knowledge and vision, and very soon India will be one of the strongest democratic country.”