'The Younger Lot Remain Silent...'

Nagendar Sharma: What have been your experiences one year after having made your debutin the highest forum of Indian democracy and having seen a different government?

Sachin Pilot : It was an exciting year, and I really did not realise howquickly the year passed. It has been an experience of a life-time, and Dr ManmohanSingh’s government has been the first coalition experience for our party. Ithink it has been a year of successes for us. I am fully aware of the fact thatexpectations from this government and the younger MPs is high, and I assure you thatwe would make all possible efforts to fulfil these. Our party has a good blendof youth and experience and the first year of young MPs in parliament and of theUPA government is a stepping stone for us to move ahead for the common man.

Manvendra Singh : During the past one year, I have learnt many lessons of mypolitical life. But let me make it clear, the UPA government has not encouragedme at all, whatever I have learnt has been from the party seniors. I would callthe UPA government as a government that came into existence by mistake. It didnot have the mandate, but anti-BJPism has seen many diverse forces come togetherafter the elections.

Jay Panda : Well, this is my first term as an MP, but I have now spent sometime in Rajya Sabha. My feeling is that the present government has not done aswell as it promised in the beginning. Despite having stars such as DrManmohan Singh, P Chidambaram and others, I feel that the dependence on LeftFront has slowed down the economic reforms in the country, and presence oftainted ministers has damaged the government's image.

BBC listener from Rajasthan : All three of your represent the young India,but why is the youth of the country becoming increasingly alienated frompolitics?

Sachin Pilot : The image of politics and politicians has definitely takena beating, and there is a perception in the younger generation of the countrythat character of politicians has taken a negative turn. Transparency in publiclife has to be made clearly visible to check this dangerous trend. However,despite this perception, the signal for the future is positive. What thepolitical class of the country now needs to do to restore the faith of youth inpolitics is to address the issues facing them directly.

Jay Panda : Actually this has been because of the fact that during the past50 years, majority of those who entered politics first concentrated on other careers, achieved success there and then turned to politics in thelatter part of their lives. However, the demography of the country is changingnow, we are seeing that a sizeable number of country’s population now is ofthose below twenty-five years of age. The next three-four years would see ayouth resurgence in Indian politics.

Manvendra Singh : This question is for urban areas and big cities. I feelthat the youth of rural areas are very much interested in the politicaldevelopments and process of the country. There are definite reasons for urbanyouth being disenchanted from the political process -- issues such as employmentetc., but the rural youth show remarkable interest.

BBC listener from Jamshedpur : But how do you, the young enthusiastic MPs,feel when there is ruckus in Parliament, and its proceedings are frequentlydisrupted?

Sachin Pilot : It is very unfortunate. The highest forum of democracy is formeaningful debate, but the opposition for the past one year has been insistingon boycotting Parliament and making a mockery of all of us in the eyes of the countrymen.The Prime Minister has himself said the government is ready to discussall issues which the opposition wants, including that of the tainted ministers, butthe opposition seems to have an agenda of disruptions .

Manvendra Singh : We owe it to the voters who have elected us to ensure thatParliament does not have tainted ministers and criminals. Now, when we wished to raise these issues, the rulingside did not allow us to speak for the entire year. We were left with no optionthan to walk out. The government has to ensure the smooth proceedings of Parliament. Has it ever happened earlier that the treasury benches are not evenprepared to listen to what the other side wants to say?

Jay Panda : I feel really sad when I see the ruckus and disruptions, but thenplease look at the reasons why Parliament is disrupted: You have agovernment which is not even interested in listening to the opposition views.Remember the responsibility of running Parliament lies with the government.If it is their prerogative, then it is their responsibility also.

However let me also draw your attention towards an important fact. If youobserve the proceedings of Parliament carefully, it shows that it is not theyounger lot of MPs who disrupt the proceedings of the House. One can criticisethat we the younger lot remain silent, but that is because we do not get enoughopportunity to raise our voice and issues.

BBC listener from Delhi : Do you think any of the seniorparliamentarians are a source of inspiration for the Indian youth and MPs like you ?

Sachin Pilot : Ours is a party which is more than 120 years old, and we havea glorious list of outstanding parliamentarians. However rising above partypolitics, I admire the Left MPs, they come thoroughly prepared to the House.

Manvendra Singh : I think L K Advani is an inspiration in Parliament. Iwatch his performances in the House very carefully.

Jay Panda : There are a lot of names in the NDA from Sushma Swaraj to ArunJaitley, but I would not like to single out any of them.

BBC listener from Colombia (US) : I would like to ask Sachin Pilot thatdespite claiming to be a youth representative, isn’t it a fact that majorityof MPs like you are there just because of your family names and fathers inmajority of cases?

Sachin Pilot : I feel that the voters of our country are intelligent voters,they do not vote for extraneous reasons meaning family names etc. In a parliament seat you have around a million voters, if they have voted for aparticular candidate, then the mandate has to be respected in a democracy. A fewnames like ours come into discussion and the entire debate is centred aroundthose names, but do not forget that all the youth leaders elected to parliament,state assemblies or local bodies are not elected solely because of family names.