I wouldn't have been an MP at 29, if my surname was not "Gandhi": Varun Gandhi
- He cited this example to drive home a point that politics should be beyond the peripheries of caste, class or legacies and that people from all phases of life should join politics.
- Speaking of equal opportunity, he said, said that he let local talents get equal opportunity in the zila parsihad elections held in his constituency.
- "Whether you see politics, films, cricket or business, it seems like all doors are closed for the common man,” he said.
FollowAddressing a public meeting, BJP Lok Sabha member Varun Gandhi said that he owes his membership to his surname, otherwise it would have been impossible for him to become the MP at the age of 29. He cited this example to drive home a point that politics should be beyond the peripheries of caste, class or legacies and that people from all phases of life should join politics.
Pitching for equal opportunities, Gandhi said, "Want to see an India where it doesn’t matter if I was Varun Dutta or Varun Ghosh or Varun Khan.”
He further added, "Winning an election is not enough… People must have the right to recall and I introduced this bill (a private member’s bill) in Parliament as a step to ensure that people, if not satisfied with their representatives, can get them removed."
He also said that he let local talents get equal opportunity in the zila parsihad elections held in his constituency. Incidentally, most of them were said to have won. According to a report by the Financial Express, Gandhi also said that he is against the frequent raise in salaries of MPs, which is often done by they themselves. Gandhi said that he dedicates his salary as an MP to an NGO or a person in need of financial help.
According to a report by the New Indian Express, the MP from UP's Sultanpur constituency had proposed an amendment in the Representation of the People Act 1951 through his Representation of the People (Amendment) Bill, seeking for the right of common masses to remove their elected representative if 75% of those who elected him are not satisfied by him. He reportedly said, "Whether you see politics, films, cricket or business, it seems like all doors are closed for the common man.”
Sharing the example of the Tamil Nadu farmers protesting the suicides in the state, he said that the state assembly did not pay any heed to their protests. “On my request, there was a full day session at the Tamil Nadu assembly, and they argued for a full day too, but for doubling the salary of MLAs,” Gandhi said.
He also informed that Britain was successfully following the method and that elected representatives were held accountable in case people collectively moved a petition and acquired over a lakh of signatures in their support.
