Hyderabad, Jul 27 (PTI) Telangana BJP president N Ramchander Rao on Monday hit out at Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, terming his proposal to lower the minimum age for contesting the Lok Sabha and Assembly polls to 21 years as an “attempt to divert people’s attention” from unfulfilled promises made to youth.
Defending the current framework, he said B R Ambedkar and architects of the Constitution intentionally set the minimum age to contest elections at 25 years to ensure lawmakers possess some experience.
“Revanth Reddy is now indulging in politics of diversion,” he said.
He suggested that the Congress should appoint a young leader as AICC president instead of Mallikarjun Kharge, if the party was genuinely committed to providing opportunities to the youth in the wake of youth-led protests over the NEET paper leak.
He pointed out that the BJP has appointed Nitin Nabin, a young leader, as the party’s president.
According to him, the Congress government has not fulfilled any promises made to youth in the last two and a half years since it assumed office. About 20 lakh student beneficiaries of tuition fees reimbursement scheme are in distress as colleges have withheld their certificates in view of dues to the tune of Rs 12,000 crore kept pending by the state government.
The 17 state government universities are in a crisis due to fund crunch and faculty crunch, he claimed.
The poll promises of Congress, including monthly Rs 4,000 unemployment dole, free ‘scootys’ to female college students, the constitution of a Youth Commission and 75 per cent reservations to locals in private jobs, remained unfulfilled, he added.
The BJP leader demanded that Revanth Reddy give up the education portfolio in view of the “failure” to fulfil the promises.
The BJP has emerged as the largest political party in the country in view of the confidence reposed by youth in the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he asserted.
Separately, Ramchander Rao and other BJP leaders paid homage to former President APJ Abdul Kalam on his death anniversary on Monday.
The CM had announced on July 25 that his government would soon convene a special assembly session to pass a resolution urging the Centre to lower the minimum age for contesting the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections to 21 years.
The existing age to contest elections is 25 years. PTI SJR SJR ROH
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