Hyderabad: In an innovative celebration of Children’s Day on the birth anniversary of former Prime Minister and freedom fighter Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, a mock Assembly of under-18 MLAs was held at the State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) on Thursday, November 14.
Under-18 students from various educational institutions acted as members of the Assembly and passed two bills – the Drug Abuse Bill and the Headquarters Bill – during the mock assembly session.
The question hour began with vigorous questioning by opposition MLA Jasmitha, who asked the government whether it was “wearing bangles” and watching the daily soap Muddamandaram on television, while the state failed to secure a single medal at the Paris Olympics held this year.
In response, the ruling party mock MLA Medha stood up and asked if the opposition MLA expected Virat Kohli to compete in swimming at the Olympics. She further questioned how many Cricket World Cups the United States had won and how many Kabaddi championships the United Kingdom had won.
MLA Medha informed the opposition that sports infrastructure was being improved across the state and announced that the ‘CM Cup’ and ‘Under-18 Olympics’ would soon be held in the state.
“While it may not currently be our strength, we will bring home the medals,” MLA Medha replied to the opposition MLA’s comments on Olympic medals.
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When opposition MLA Jasmitha questioned the government on the purpose of the Headquarters Bill, mock chief minister Sai rose to explain that it was aimed at establishing an Assembly and Parliament in Hyderabad, where legislations would be enacted, and even under-18 parliamentarians from across the country would be invited to attend the sessions.
He added that career exploration and other important aspects affecting the under-18 community would be discussed at the headquarters.
The entire house applauded Telangana chief minister A Revanth Reddy, who was the chief guest for the mock Assembly, for launching the Hyderabad Disaster Response Assets Monitoring and Protection Agency (HYDRAA) to protect the city from floods, the encroachment of water bodies, and public assets.
CM Revanth advocates reducing age for candidates from 25 to 21
In his closing remarks, Revanth Reddy urged the under-18 MLAs to pass a resolution to amend the constitution and reduce the age criterion for contesting as an MLA from 25 to 21, so the resolution could be sent to the President and Prime Minister of India through the Members of Parliament representing Telangana. He expressed hope that by sending this letter with the resolution, the issue could be discussed in the upcoming winter session of Parliament.
“We can see that youth excel in many fields by the age of 21. So why can’t they stand for election at 21 and play an important role in running the country? If more young people have representation in the assembly, issues like education, sports, and employment will receive more attention and legislation on those issues can be enacted,” Revanth Reddy opined.
He also reminded the under-18 MLAs that it was former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi who initiated the constitutional amendment to reduce the voting age from 21 to 18 years, stressing that it was important for the younger generation to remember who granted them that right to vote.
He also noted that Nehru had introduced educational and agricultural reforms in the country, which helped people gain an education, and acknowledged that it was due to former UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi and former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh that the Right to Education Act was enacted.
Encouraging the younger generation to consider a future in politics, he expressed hope that at least some of the under-18 MLAs would eventually enter the legislative assemblies by pursuing political careers.
