New Delhi ): Stressing the "need to incentivize youth so that they enter into mainstream politics," Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MP Raghav Chadha on Thursday made a strong pitch in Rajya Sabha to reduce the minimum age for contesting Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha elections in India from 25 years to 21 years.
"We are a young country with old politicians, we must aspire to be a young country with young politicians," Chadha said in the Rajya Sabha. Raghav Chadha said, "The age criteria for contesting elections in Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha is 25 years. Through the medium of Rajya Sabha, I want to request to the government to make this age 21 for the youth who want to mark their journey in mainstream politics. If a youth can vote at the age of 18, then why can't they get into the elections at the age of 21?"
Raghav Chadha asserted that India is one of the youngest countries in the world in terms of the average age of its population and deserves representation to reflect that.
Citing the reasons behind less participation by youths, Chadha said, "This is happening because politics is considered a bad profession. I think we need to incentivize our youth so that they come into mainstream politics."
"India is one of the youngest countries in the world. The average age of Indians is 29 and 65 percent population of India is below 35 years old. More than 50 per cent of the population is less than 50 years old, but the question is: are our representatives also that young? It's very wonderful to know that in the very first elections of Lok Sabha after independence, 26 per cent of MPs were below the age of 40. But, in this 17th Lok Sabha, only 12 per cent MPs are below the age of 40. The way the country is getting younger, our representatives are getting older,"he added.
At present, the minimum age for an individual to contest Lok Sabha and Assembly elections in India is 25 years, while to become a member of the Rajya Sabha or the State Legislative Council, a person should be at least 30 years of age.