Youth Parliament, organised by Leaders of Tomorrow, was held on the 20th and 21st of October, in NLH and was an event attended by students who had a passion for politics and current affairs. The event ensured that participants racked their brains to figure out the best election campaigns and also tested their debating skills and knowledge of parliamentary procedure. The event had three committees—The Lok Sabha committee, the AIPPM committee held in association with Goonj, and the 2019 general election committee which consisted of UPA and NDA factions.

Every participant was assigned the role of a particular politician such as Arvind Kejriwal and Shashi Tharoor. Each committee had an Executive Board consisting of LoT members to run proceedings and judge the participant’s performances.

The theme of the Lok Sabha committee was the controversial AFSPA Act—a major point of discussion being the human rights violations that have often been associated with it. The Armed Forces Special Powers Act gives the armed forces the power to maintain public order in “disturbed areas” and was recently revoked in Meghalaya causing quite a controversy. “Neither those for nor those against the AFSPA act have won. Instead, both sides have come to a compromise and reduced the intensity of the act”, said Vishnu Nair, managing committee member of LoT, and rapporteur of the Lok Sabha Executive Board.

The topic of debate in the AIPPM committee was the notorious Babri Masjid-Ram Janmabhoomi dispute. Points of discussion included the legal and political aftermaths of the Masjid demolition. “The delegates in favour of the Ram Temple have done their research and have made far more compelling arguments, so it looks like the Ram temple will be built after all”, said Rahul Ravishankar Singh, Goonj President and Chair of the AIPPM Executive Board. “The committee has performed well, but some of the contestants didn’t show up, and that affected the quality of the debate”, he added.

In the 2019 General Elections committee, contestants created election strategies, launched extensive campaigns and paved the way for their respective parties to win the elections. The NDA faction spoke of issues ranging from tax reforms to welfare of tribal communities while the UPA faction spoke of matters such as education and women’s safety. “The committee has thought of many issues and has dealt with the obstacles presented to them maturely. “, exclaimed Sarbhanu Nath, NDA Executive Board member, as he praised his committee.

The Youth Parliament shed a lot of light on various geopolitical issues present in the country. It concluded with the judges announcing the final verdict on the issues. The Ram Temple supporters were adjudged winners while the general election committee came to an understanding of what the ideal election campaign would be.

Images credit: The Photography Club, Manipal