Saying that politics can no longer be left “in the hands of posterity”, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said a “Youth Leaders’ Dialogue” would be held in Delhi next year to encourage one lakh youth to join politics in the future.
Speaking through video conferencing at the inauguration of the Ramakrishna Math in Lekhamba village of Ahmedabad district, Modi said, “Today, as in technology and other fields, our youth need to take responsibility for the political leadership of the country. Now politics cannot be left only for the dynasty. We cannot leave politics in the hands of those who treat it as a feudal estate (jagir) of their family.
The Prime Minister said that on the occasion of Swami Vivekananda’s birth anniversary on January 12, 2025, 2,000 selected youth of the country would be invited for a “Youth Leader Dialogue” held in Delhi.
“Crillion youth of the country will be connected through technology. There will be a discussion on how to solve a developed India from the perspective of the youth. A roadmap will be made to bring the youth into politics. It is our resolve to bring one lakh talented and energetic youth into politics in the coming years. And these youth will be the new face of 21st century India and the future of the country,” said PM Modi.
Modi said that he is working from where Swami Vivekananda left off. “Swami Vivekananda believed that youth are the backbone of the nation… He said: ‘Give me 100 youths with confidence and energy and I will rejuvenate India’. Now is the time to shoulder the responsibility. From today we have started the journey to Amritkal.
Modi said Gujarat played a “major role” in Swami Vivekananda’s life journey, adding that it was in the state that the philosopher “first came to know about the Chicago World Conference of Religions”. The Prime Minister said that in 1891, Swami Vivekananda stayed for several months at Bhojeshwar Bhawan in Porbandar.
Modi said that during his tenure as Gujarat Chief Minister in 2005, he had handed over Dilaram Bungalow in Vadodara, where Vivekananda had spent some time, to the Ramakrishna Mission. He said that the Gujarat government is now preparing the blueprint for the Swami Vivekananda Tourist Circuit.
Modi expressed his wish for the new Ramakrishna Mutt at Lekhamba village in Sanand taluk to become a “centre of spiritual development along with economic progress”.