‘People decide PM in India’: Leaders react to Owaisi’s ‘young PM’ remark
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New Delhi: Leaders across the political spectrum on Sunday reacted to All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi's call for a "young person" to become the Prime Minister, asserting that in a democracy, it is ultimately the people who decide who leads the country, irrespective of age.
Addressing a public rally on Saturday, Owaisi said that a majority of India's population is young and that his party would seek to field young candidates in the upcoming Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections.
"In India, 65 per cent of our population is under the age of 35, and 50 per cent of India's population is under the age of 25. Our effort will be that, in the coming Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, our party will nominate young people as its candidates so that they can speak for you fearlessly," Owaisi said.
"Our effort will be that when the 2029 elections are held, not an 80-year-old man becomes the Prime Minister of India, but a 40 or 45-year-old young person becomes the Prime Minister of this country. This will be our endeavour," the AIMIM chief added.
Responding to Owaisi's remarks, BJP spokesperson Pratul Shah Deo questioned the focus on age and said that the US President is also over 80 and continues to remain in the spotlight.
"I don't know why he is so concerned about age. The President of the United States is aged over 80 years and continues to remain in the spotlight. I think Owaisi is trying to build a narrative. He only does politics in the name of Muslims and appeasement," Shah Deo said.
"We are proud that under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership, India has emerged as the fastest-growing economy in the world," he told IANS.
BJP leader RP Singh accused Owaisi and other opposition leaders of "trying to walk by keeping a gun on the shoulders of the youth".
"The way PM Modi is concerned about the students and youths of the country, no Prime Minister of any country has done so far," he asserted.
Congress leader Rakesh Sinha, meanwhile, emphasised that India is a democracy in which both 80-year-olds and young people are free to contest elections.
"In a democracy, the winning party chooses its leader. They are free to choose anyone. That is the beauty of democracy. Ultimately, it is the people of the country, not any political party, who decide who will become the Prime Minister," he told IANS.
Congress MP Sukhdeo Bhagat said that everyone has the right to express their views in a democracy, while describing Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi as a "visionary leader" who is playing a major role in nation-building.
"People may have their own viewpoints but we have our own path of struggle," he added.
With IANS inputs