'Why are so many government representatives given Z+ security?' asks BJYM president Anurag Thakur

In India, a very large chunk of the population falls in the age group of 25-35 years. While this can be a great asset for any nation and a stepping stone for a brighter future, the tragedy is that the leaders of this country, barring a few, are mostly senior citizens leaving almost a three to four-decade gap between ‘youngistan’ and the current political leadership.

To cater to the aspirations of Gen-X, Zee Media Corporation has started a unique show named ‘Yuva Mange More’. The programme hosted by popular radio jockeys Anant and Saurabh, will interact with young politicos to get a glimpse of their vision of 21st century India.

Hailing Zee Media’s initiative, Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) president Anurag Thakur, who was the guest on the inaugural episode said, “It is a great initiative to involve the youth in the nation building process.”

On the state of the nation, programme anchors, Anant and Saurabh, asked why so many government representatives were given Z+ security while citizens remained vulnerable. To this Thakur asserted that it was important that every citizen of this country needed to feel secure, but added that there have been many instances when our politicians too have died unfortunate deaths despite security. “Taxpayers’ money shouldn’t be wasted on providing unnecessary security to those who don’t need it,” he said. However, Thakur was quick to add that those who have threat to their lives should be given adequate security cover.

Thakur also emphasised on the need to strengthen the intelligence system of the country and pointed that this was a failure of both central and state governments.

The president of the All India Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) took the opportunity to hit at the Congress government, criticising the Manmohan Singh’s government for being soft on Pakistan, especially in the wake of the beheading of Indian soldiers at the border and repeated ceasefire violations. When the BJP youth wing leader was asked for a possible solution, Thakur said that India needs to get rid of the tag of being a soft state and learn from the US and Israel. He was also very critical of the Indian government’s attempts to bring 26/11 attacks mastermind Hafiz Saeed to justice and for not taking any action against Yasin Malik, who expressed anti-India sentiments on Pakistani soil.

Sticking to the topic of internal security, Thakur underlined the need to step up cyber security, which he felt so far had remained a neglected area.

About the rising cases of rape, the BJYM president admitted that people genuinely felt insecure while going to the police station and registering a complaint. He stressed on the need to change mindset of the policemen and deploy more woman cops in every police station as well as implement laws to deal with crime against women.

Noting the need for improvement in the judicial system, Thakur observed that the situation was grim, as cases remained pending in courts for years. “Our law and order situation has deteriorated. Government should make sure that there is an effective implementation of laws,” he asserted.

The BJP leader also pinned the blame on people for the increasing crime against the weaker sections of the society. Thakur said, “There has been dilution in the value system of people,” adding that “the way a youth sees a girl makes her nervous...every boy should consider a girl as a member of his family.”

When the BJP leader was asked about steps that he would like to take as an MP to ensure security to women, Thakur replied by saying that there has been a degradation of moral values and awareness should be created amongst the people to change the mindset. Giving his own example, Thakur said he sometimes travels in local buses plying on Himachal roads to understand the problems faced by the women travellers. While the BJYM president made his point, anchor Saurabh asked him, why such incidents didn’t get highlighted? In a veiled attack on Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi, the BJP leader said that he didn’t like to travel in Mumbai locals or spend a night at a poor person’s village just for publicity, and instead, believed in working honestly for the needy.

On the issue of continuous disruption of Parliament, Thakur put the entire blame in the Congress’s court saying BJP was keener than the ruling party for the smooth passage of the Food Security Bill. He criticised Congress for bringing the Telangana issue at the present juncture and said it was merely a poll gimmick.

When asked about the increasing criminalisation of politics, the Lok Sabha MP maintained that people having murder or rape cases against them should be barred from the electoral system. However, Thakur was quick to add that some cases against the politicians are politically motivated and this aspect should also be thoroughly looked into.

Thakur, who is also the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association president, said that quality of every sport should be improved, and rued the increasing illegalities in sports. The BJP leader, who is also known for his great cricketing skills, on a funny note said that he skipped attending classes during his college days as he was always on the field for practice.

The BJP MP expressed sadness about people spending a large portion of their hard earned money on basic needs like education, which should be made easily affordable. He underlined that food, employment, education and security were fundamental rights of every citizen and should be available to all.

The BJP leader was very enthusiastic while interacting with the students on the show. He also opted to question GenX on the kind of India they want and the changes needed in society. While one of the young students replied that fulfilling the duties with sincerity can make our nation better, another student emphasised on the need to strengthen the judiciary and implement laws effectively.

(This episode of ‘Yuva Mange More’ will be telecast on August 22 at 8.30 pm)