A bitter critic of the BJP, multilingual actor Prakash Raj took a dig at the Congress on Friday, March 1.
Addressing a session on “The Aspirations of Democracy” on the inaugural day of the two-day national seminar on “Anxieties of Democracy in Contemporary India” organised by Union of Progressive Organisations, Mysuru, Mr. Raj said that no leader in the country was in a position to protect its people from the anxieties of democracies.
After citing examples of his “anxieties” under the present BJP regime, Mr. Raj referred to the presence of Congress spokesperson Anshul Avijith on the dais and said even if the people of the country went with them (Congress), “everybody is the same”.
Pointing out that democracy should have improved the life of the citizens in the country, but the same was not happening under the present-day regime. “The present-day regime is not doing. But, the previous regime also did not do it. It is a fact that we should understand,” he said.
Instead of pumping so much money into IITs and other institutions of higher learning during the last 75 years, more attention should have been paid to making primary education universal and encouraging a mindset of questioning among the young students.
If the situation in the country is to improve, he said the people, particularly the youth, should understand what makes their lives and surroundings more livable and act accordingly.
He said the majority community had a responsibility to take care of the minorities and that is secularism.
Referring to the protest staged by youths in the Parliament during December 2023, Mr. Raj said the youth might have been “misled”, but the media, opposition, and ruling party should be discussing the reasons compelling them for such a “misadventure”.
He said the youth had raised issues like rape in Manipur and unemployment problem they faced in the country.
Mr. Raj added that the present regime would find it difficult to run the country even if they returned to power. He foresaw more revolts by farmers and youth.
Earlier, Anshul Avijith, who is also the grandson of former Deputy Prime Minister Jagjivan Ram, said the caste system thrived in colonial India on account of the grip on the flow of knowledge the rulers exercised. “Dalits became complicit in their subjugation”, he lamented.
