“If there is a vision for the city, then the civil society must be a part of it,” said Priya Dutt, Congress MP, at a hangout session for youth organised by a city NGO, Operation Black Dot (OBD), on Wednesday. The OBD hangouts provide a platform for students to engage with their elected representatives by breaking away from the typical loudspeaker political discourse and instead using a format that appeals to the youth.
The event saw a good turnout of students who shot a volley of questions on politics. Dutt admitted that she entered politics due to compulsion and not out of choice. “Getting a ticket (of the Congress) was easy, but the difficult part came after that,” she said, pointing out to the tough task of getting elected.
She was flummoxed when a student asked as to whom, in her opinion, would be the next prime minister - Rahul Gandhi or Narendra Modi. She diplomatically focused on her relationship with the Congress and its vision.
Samyak Chakravarthy, founder of OBD, too asked several questions such as her views on section 377, inclusive growth, empowerment of women and so on. She agreed that criminalisation of section 377 was wrong because we cannot enter anyone’s bedroom or change their sexuality.
Citing her views on the need for sex education in schools she said, “Sex education is not something bad. It does not teach kids to have sex but protects them against pregnancy and STDs.”
When asked about the corruption in the system, she was at a loss of words.
She agreed that not everyone can join politics because campaigning requires good financial background.She encouraged the young audience to start volunteering with youth wings of any political party of their choice so to get an idea of how things work.
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