Speaking at the India Today Conclave, Pushpendra Saroj, India's youngest MP, explained why the youth can change the political discourse in the country.
The Samajwadi Party MP stated that young people are more interested in real issues than in religion and caste-based politics, which dominate the Indian political landscape today.
The Samajwadi Party MP stated that young people are more interested in real issues than in religion and caste-based politics, which dominate the Indian political landscape today.
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00:00So, as part of our bright young Indian segment here at the India Today Conclave, only fitting
00:08that we have Pushpendra Saroj, all of 25 ladies and gentlemen, sitting in Parliament as Member
00:13of Parliament from the Samajwadi Party.
00:16A big warm welcome to you, Pushpendra Saroj here at the India Today Conclave.
00:20I have so many questions for you because very often when we're covering Parliament, you
00:25always see, of course, the senior most politicians there and to be seated among them as a young
00:30voice, how is that?
00:32How does that feel?
00:33Pushpendra Saroj Firstly, I would like to thank the India Today
00:35group for inviting me here.
00:36I think it's a perfect platform for people of all ends of society to come and share their
00:41vision and thank you for having me here.
00:44And as a young politician, as you say, because clearly in our society, youth politicians
00:49are defined as someone who's even 40, 45 are called youth politicians.
00:5460 sometimes, like 60 sometimes.
00:56So me being a young politician, I think it's been a very good experience as well.
01:01And sitting in Parliament amongst the most experienced individuals who've been there
01:05for maybe more than I've been on this planet as well.
01:09So learning from them and listening to their advice.
01:12It's been wonderful.
01:13Is it intimidating?
01:14Pushpendra Saroj Sometimes it is, but now I've gotten used
01:17to it.
01:18So do you get to speak up a lot in Parliament as well or is it, you know, drowned out by
01:22all of the veterans who know how things work, kind of bulldoze through your voice?
01:26Pushpendra Saroj No, I think the wonderful thing about the
01:28Parliament is that when you get the chance to speak, everybody listens.
01:32That's the beauty of Parliament.
01:33The whole country listens.
01:34I mean, you really do get the opportunity to speak because there are a lot of members.
01:38But when you get the opportunity, I think the seriousness of the discussion is discussed.
01:44It's been taken upon.
01:45And I think that is the sanctity of the Parliament.
01:48At 25, Pushpendra, as the youngest MP, I'm sure you shoulder a lot of the responsibility
01:53also of speaking for the youth because we don't have many of you in Parliament.
01:59What are the issues that, you know, are close to your heart that you believe Parliament
02:03should be discussing more about, about youngsters, about youth, about what they want?
02:07Pushpendra Saroj I think particularly about the youth, we
02:10talk about the youth a lot.
02:12I think 65% of the population is under 35 in our country.
02:17So youth has a lot of role to play.
02:19And me being bestowed upon that responsibility to speak about the youth, to talk about them
02:26in the biggest fray, the political fray.
02:31And I think the youth kind of distanced themselves from the politics.
02:36It's when they turn 35 or maybe older, that's when they want to get into politics.
02:41And sometimes they just don't want to be into politics, it's just a parallel thing going
02:46on in their life.
02:48And sometimes what happens is that they just think politics is dirty, there is no change
02:54that can happen.
02:56But I would like to just say that, as the famous quote says that, be the change that
03:00you want to see.
03:01That's why I would like to urge everybody, especially my age, because there is a legal
03:05limit of 25 that can contest elections.
03:08I think we should define how youth in politics should be in India.
03:1325 people should get involved into politics, should speak up, discuss.
03:18And I think youth should not disengage, they should participate in politics and speak up.
03:24I think their voices are the ones that can lead the country.
03:28And I believe in the youth, I believe in the youth power, because history has also shown
03:32us that when youth come to the ground, changes do happen.
03:36So I don't know, probably it is something, I'll just give you an example.
03:41There are two societies, so I come from a fairly privileged background as well.
03:46So sometimes when people don't want to get into politics, they don't even know about
03:50politics at all.
03:51So some of my friends, they don't even know who I am.
03:54So I have to tell them that I am a member of parliament and they don't understand who
03:58I am.
03:59And the easiest way is to say, do you know the Prime Minister?
04:04Do you know Mr. Gandhi?
04:05Do you know Mr. Yadav?
04:06Whatever they are, I am also that and we sit in the same parliament.
04:10So that's how it is.
04:11So that is something that I really believe that they should get more involved into politics.
04:17I think they have got good vision, good ideas, good, huge energy.
04:22And I think the youth should come up front and discuss politics as well.
04:25But is it challenging?
04:26You know, you did highlight that you're from a privileged background.
04:29So because of that, you got that golden ticket into politics.
04:31For a lot of others, it's obviously very hard.
04:34You have to battle a whole lot of challenges to even get a ticket.
04:38Everyone has to be filthy rich to be able to get a ticket.
04:40So there are challenges.
04:42Is that why you think that youngsters kind of shy away?
04:44The average age right now in parliament is 56.
04:47And to change that, obviously, you need to open the doors for people to come in.
04:51That's challenging.
04:52For any youngster out there to come and say, look, I can afford to buy a ticket as is in
04:56a political party.
04:58It's not easy.
04:59See, I don't shy away from the fact that I come from a privileged background.
05:01My father is a politician as well.
05:03But I very sternly say this that I contested in electoral politics.
05:09People gave me the mandate and I won by over a lakh votes.
05:13And I have two records upon my name by winning the highest margin of votes with the youngest
05:18politician in the entire country.
05:21So I don't shy away from the fact.
05:23Now, if I don't do that work and I don't live up to their expectations, they have every
05:28right to vote me out in the next elections.
05:30I think talking particularly about the youth, they don't even want to take that first step
05:36into politics at this very age.
05:38It is when later on, then they start going into the society, helping people out, going
05:44for tickets and asking for tickets.
05:46So if you're talking about that segment, about 25 to 35 years, people don't really want to
05:51enter politics.
05:53People want to do other things in life, try out different aspects of life.
05:57And it's understandable as well.
05:59But if you talk about me and my idea, I would really like them to step into politics at
06:04this very age.
06:05No, 100 percent.
06:06I'm sure youngsters, you know, bringing that mix into politics will make such a difference.
06:11There is a challenge, of course, as I pointed out in getting those opportunities.
06:14But the other aspect of it is also the image, you know, of dirty, mucky politics should
06:19we really get into it.
06:21A lot of youngsters you see on social media only, of course, have a word or two to condemn
06:26politicians say, you know, we stay away from politics.
06:30How do you change that mindset?
06:31The image is that look, politics is corrupt.
06:33Politics is not for me.
06:34How do you change that?
06:35See, I am now into politics and if they look up to me, I always say when I go into campaigns
06:42and I meet new people, you should have someone to follow into politics.
06:46Party ideologies are fine.
06:49And whatever these days politics, especially these days, the politics that is happening
06:53in our country is based on religion, caste.
06:56And when I had these discussions with the youth, they don't want to discuss religion
06:59and caste.
07:00They want to discuss issues.
07:01That's why I said that there is a lot of potential into good politics that can happen in this
07:06country that can bring about change.
07:08So you should look up to individuals.
07:10I really look up to some individuals as well in the proposition and the opposition as well.
07:16So I think that that idea that needs to be changed has to come by myself first.
07:22I really, I take that responsibility as well, how I can represent the youth and talk about
07:27the youth and be a leader of the youth and how the youth of the country should see me
07:33that, okay, this is the man who really talks about issues, talks about change and maybe
07:38then they follow into my example and then step into politics.
07:41It's great that you want to be that icon who triggers that change and you're so, you know,
07:45openly saying that, look, youngsters should be a part of political discourse.
07:49What are the issues you think, Pushpendra, your conversations with youngsters, they want
07:54raised in parliament that right now parliamentarians aren't doing?
07:59I think the biggest issue that the country is facing, especially the youngsters, is the
08:03issue of unemployment.
08:05And it's been an issue for quite some time now.
08:08I've spoken to a lot of individuals of my constituency and I've traveled all over the
08:12Pradesh as well.
08:13Even I had the chance to be in the Delhi elections and the Maharashtra elections.
08:18And I spoke to many individuals, youth particularly, and the burden of making a living right now
08:26that is bestowed upon them is bringing them down.
08:29I mean, the unemployment rate right now in this country is very huge.
08:33And this is particularly something that they, the idea that we were talking about youth,
08:38why don't they, they don't want to step into politics is because they want safety first.
08:42They want to make a living.
08:44They want to handle their family and politics is not safe, politics is not stable.
08:49So I think they want to get into a proper stable job and make a living out of it.
08:54So right now they don't even have that.
08:56So that is the biggest issue that youths are facing right now.
09:00In parliament, I'm sure you've interacted with the who's who also of the MPs.
09:05Who are the members of parliament who you really look up to in parliament right now?
09:09I think there are a lot of members from very different parties.
09:13I mean, if we talk about the government as well, I've openly said it before as well,
09:17I really look up to Mr. Nitin Gadkari ji, the way he functions, the way that he is very
09:21straightforward.
09:22If there is certain work, I'll tell you an example in parliament, we have a question
09:25hour in parliament.
09:27It's a one hour question hour session with the ministries.
09:32And certain times what happens is when different ministries' questions are being discussed,
09:36the parliament gets adjourned or there are some noises and a lot of show-sharava happens.
09:42But I was just sitting in Mr. Nitin Gadkari ji's question hour session.
09:48Not one voice from the opposition was there to oppose him.
09:53Every question that was taken up was discussed, was handled by him.
09:57And he said one thing that he's told all his officials that when a member of parliament
10:02comes to meet him, you should take him very seriously because he is representing lakhs
10:07of people and he has a problem.
10:10That's why he's walked up to me with a problem and it is our responsibility to solve that
10:14problem.
10:15So I think I really look up to him.
10:16And that question hour session was something that I couldn't have done.
10:19That's an amazing story that you've given us.
10:22But besides that, any other MPs you look up to?
10:24Yes, I think the leader of my party, Mr. Yadav, Mr. Akhilesh Yadav, I really look up to him
10:30because it is not easy to give a 25-year-old ticket, a Lok Sabha ticket and believe in
10:35him.
10:36But he believed in me.
10:37He wants good educated people in the parliament.
10:42And we've seen that we've got three youngsters in our party, in our very own party, who represent
10:46the Samajwadi party in the Lok Sabha.
10:49So I call him a visionary.
10:51And he's a very kind, humble man and he promotes youth as well.
10:55So he is someone I really look up to.
10:57On the youth front, you know, you're speaking about how people should know more about politics.
11:01A big part of that is social media, ensuring that, you know, people have politics, know
11:07political opinion, know what's happening in our parliament on their phones.
11:11How do you really think that as a 25-year-old MP, I'm sure you're active on Instagram, on
11:16X and all of that.
11:18How do you think we can kind of gensify or make politics fun for youngsters?
11:24I think social media has played a very strong role in promoting messages as well.
11:29And social media wars.
11:31And social media wars.
11:32I mean, there is a boon and bane to everything.
11:35So we've seen earlier, it was the responsibility of the media to promote messages and to send
11:42messages to all societies and whatever the politician wants to discuss.
11:46But social media has been something that has revolutionized it.
11:50And now we can directly connect with individuals as well.
11:53So I think it is important.
11:54But in politics, it has always been said that the old-fashioned ways of connecting
11:59directly with the people, doing politics from the ground, going and meeting people on the
12:04ground and having that touch is the mantra, is the basic thing that you should do.
12:10And sometimes people forget that, politicians forget that.
12:14But I think that mission should never be forgotten.
12:16And that is the base of politics.
12:19Social media and everything, that is really nice to connect with the masses.
12:22But politics is done from the ground.
12:25In Parliament, is there a code of conduct?
12:29For example, Pushpendra Saroj, the politician, dresses like a politician.
12:33As a 25-year-old, do you get to dictate terms and conditions of how you want to go to Parliament?
12:38No, there is no code of conduct.
12:40I mean, you get to dress the way that you want to dress.
12:44And you get to be the way that you want to be.
12:46I mean, it's something that really caught up to me in Parliament was the first day that
12:51I walked in.
12:52I thought I was just a 25-year-old who walked into Parliament.
12:55But when I walked into the Parliament, everybody is equal, everybody is treated equal.
12:59Do the senior MPs bully you?
13:01Oh no, there is no.
13:02That's what I'm saying.
13:03That's the sanctity of the Parliament inside.
13:05That building is maintained so highly that you're treated as a colleague, as someone
13:10their age.
13:11And when you speak, when you talk, when you speak in Parliament or when you're outside
13:15Parliament as well, not the session, that status remains the same and that seriousness
13:20remains the same.
13:21I mean, that is something that really caught up to me.
13:23But does it also, and you know, I started off asking if it intimidates you, but on your
13:27very first day, now that you mentioned it, I can't imagine what it was like to enter
13:32you know, Parliament, to enter the Lok Sabha, see around you all of these faces that you've
13:37known, you've seen for so many years growing up, I'm sure if you wanted to be a politician.
13:42What did that feel like to be there?
13:43And the very first speech you gave, I'm sure you must have been incredibly nervous.
13:47Yeah, the very first speech that I gave, I waited up until 9pm to deliver my speech.
13:53And it was wonderful.
13:55And you're talking about intimidation.
13:57I was just sitting in Parliament one day, the very first session, to be honest.
14:02And it was just so surreal.
14:04And I just looked upon the Prime Minister and then the leader of opposition.
14:09I was sitting right in the centre.
14:11The speaker was right in front of me.
14:13And my mind just went off.
14:15And then it hit me suddenly, that where I am, you just wonder to be here.
14:20So yeah, initially it was intimidating.
14:23Now it's fine.
14:24It's been a couple of sessions and it feels like a part of me.
14:26And have you ever received words of praise from senior MPs for being a 25 year old parliamentarian
14:32holding his own?
14:33And of course, anyone who comes to you and says, look, we need to get more like you on
14:37board.
14:38It's been very often.
14:40It's been always that I've introduced myself to very high individuals as well.
14:45I introduced myself to many experienced individuals, many experienced MPs, ministers as well.
14:51And it's always praise that have come from them and motivation.
14:55And they really want to see young people.
14:57That's why I said that young people should step into politics, because people inside
15:02the parliament want to see young people in the parliament.
15:05And they want to see new energy, new vision, new ideas, creative ideas in the parliament
15:11and good debates, good discussions.
15:13And especially when I delivered my speech as well, I didn't expect senior individuals
15:17to be there at 9pm, but they were there to wait for my speech, to wait, to listen to
15:21my speech.
15:22And when I spoke and I finished, they were there to motivate me and congratulate me as
15:27well.
15:28And finally, one word of advice to all the 25 year olds listening this, thinking maybe,
15:32maybe we can enter politics.
15:34What change can they make?
15:35See, first, I would really like to tell them that their presence should be felt.
15:40It is not about disengaging, it is about participating into politics.
15:45And your voices are important, your voices should be heard.
15:50And it is for you to step up and take responsibility, accept where you are and take responsibility
15:56of where you want to go.
15:57That's what I did.
15:58I didn't imagine stepping into politics this early.
16:01But once you step into politics, then you find out that you can be the change that you
16:05want to see in the world.
16:06Moderator Thank you so much, Pushpendra Saroj, ladies
16:08and gentlemen, the youngest MP at 25, we hope we have many more of you very soon.