Varun Gandhi addresses Amity University, says 'India needs vibrant citizenry'

Jaipur: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Varun Gandhi on Thursday said that India needs to have a vibrant citizenry who can challenge the decisions of the state.

"India is straddling between two times zones-17th century and 21st century and there is no socio-economic bridge between the two which is leading to chaos and confusion in the country. India needs to have a vibrant citizenry where a normal citizen has the power to question the State and challenge its decisions; he should have a stake in the State," he said.

Addressing a jam packed auditorium of enthused Amity students on "Ideas for New India" at University Campus, Sector-125 Noida, Gandhi said: "The vision of a candidate should be the reason to vote rather than caste or religion."

Gandhi stated the fact that in India, there is no continuity in politics as people are still voting in the name of caste and religion and very few are interested in knowing the vision of a candidate.

"Feudalism is not over in India; its rife and running in the blood of people. 99.9% of the Parliamentarians are children of dead or retired politicians and there are very few people who are there because of their capabilities or great vision," he said.

"Today, politics all over the world is becoming inclusive and India must tread the path. Very soon, the politics of caste will become redundant in India with people getting more responsible and active on social media, trying to reach out to the parliamentarians," he added.

Gandhi proposed that governance should be decentralized in India.

"One person taking care of millions of people in a constituency may or may not be capable enough to do so, therefore people need to come forward and get involved in the societal affairs. In 2015, we are talking about individuals and not institutions. We need to impose faith in ourselves and think ways to make difference to the society. With vigilant judiciary and media, people of the country are looking forward to new and vibrant voices of the youth, who are capable enough to change even the policies in the country," he said.

Calling upon the youth to bet on them and their big ideas, which will make their voice heard tomorrow, Gandhi said, "The present century is about three things - ideas, institutions and individuals. Dozens of entrepreneurs, now, are coming up with new ideas and are getting funding from various sources. Young entrepreneurs don't need money to make money; all they need is an idea."

He called upon the youth to use the power of the judiciary, the media and power tools provided by the Government like RTIs to challenge the system. He motivated them to have an opinion, research that opinion and respect it.

Sharing a philosophical thought with the students, Gandhi said, "thoughts come from thoughtlessness; make your mind blank and the universe will speak through you."

"Still your mind, let your unconscious mind work and the answers of the universe will knock through you. Go forward and play in your life confidently as if you have three aces and you will definitely make it big in your life," he added.

Dr. Aseem Chauhan, Chancellor of Amity University, Rajasthan thanked Varun Gandhi for sparing time and enlightening the young students with his wisdom and experience.

Dr. Gurinder Singh, Additional Vice Chancellor and Director General of Amity International Business School said that Amity has been inviting a series of eminent people as part of 'Leadership Series' to interact with the young students so that they can learn from the great leaders and emulate their traits.

The lecture was attended by hundreds of students along with Heads of Institutions, faculty members and staff of Amity University.