NEW DELHI: AAP Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha on Thursday pitched for reducing the minimum age for contesting elections to 21 years from the current 25 years, saying the move will enable more youth to participate in politics.
He said India is one of the youngest countries with 65% of its population under 35 years. “But, we are a young country with old politicians. We must aspire to become a young country with young politicians,” he said in the Rajya Sabha, adding that 50% of the population in India is below the age of 25 years.
Chadha said 29 per cent of the people elected to the first Lok Sabha were below the age of 40 years. In the last Lok Sabha, only 12 per cent of MPs were under 40 years. “I have a suggestion to the government through the Chair of RS that the minimum age for contesting elections should be reduced from 25 to 21 years,” he said.
Chadha further said that in India, politics is considered a bad profession. Parents want their children to become doctors, engineers, chartered accountants, and scientists, but not politicians, the Rajya Sabha member said. “We need to incentivise youth so that they enter politics in India,” he said.