SPECIAL REPORT
57th National Convention of ABVP in New Delhi
—Justice (Retd) RC Lahoti
By Pramod Kumar
“The solution to all the problems that the youth of Bharat are today facing is to revive our age old sanskriti, Sanskrit and samskars. The Youth need to work for the restoration of these three vital things if we really wish to make Bharat a superpower,” said former Chief Justice of Supreme Court of India Shri RC Lahoti. He was inaugurating the 57th national convention of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) at the packed Talkatora Stadium in New Delhi on January 4.
Over 1200 student leaders from different parts of the country participated in the three-day national convention which concluded on January 6. Smt Manan Chaturvedi of Jaipur was honoured with Prof Yeshwantrao Kelkar youth award at the convention. ABVP national president Prof Milind Marathe and general secretary Shri Umesh Datt also shared the dais.
Other prominent leaders who attended the inaugural session included RSS Sahsarkaryavahs Shri Suresh Soni and Shri Dattatreya Hosabale, Prakash Javadekar of BJP, Shri Dinanath Batra of Shiksha Bachao Andolan Samiti, Shri Brahmdev Sharma ‘Bhaiji’ of Vidya Bharati, Geetatai Gunde of Mahila Samanvya, ABVP organising secretary Shri Sunil Ambekar, former ABVP national president Prof. Rajkumar Bhatia, reception committee president and former Lt Governor of Delhi Shri Vijay Kapoor, reception committee secretary Shri Bharat Bhushan, convener of the conference Dr Payal Mago, Delhi state president Dr Praveen Garg and others.
Justice Lahoti expressed anguish over the existing predicament and travails of the innocent people whose life has become pathetic and miserable due to highly political motives and lost morality. Pointing at solutions he suggested that emphasis should be on moral ethics, culture and tradition. He lashed out at those who are perpetuating politics for their selfish desires. “It has been more than six decades since Independence and yet the constitutional rights have not reached the masses. The dream of Ram Rajya cannot come true unless economic, political and social rights are granted to the citizens in proportionate way. To embark on the journey for the fulfillment of Ram Rajya we need to reinvent the philosophy of the Bhagwat Gita and Gandhiji,” he added.
Shri Lahoti also stressed the need to bring the elders and the youth together as the elders have experience and the youth have energy and both together can solve any of the critical problem. He called upon the youth to use their power to change the present distressing picture of the society, as without changing this picture Bharat cannot become Vishwaguru. Making clear the visions of ABVP in its approach for national reconstruction he admired the enthusiastic efforts of the ABVP when crisis and other strains gripped the society.
Describing the large number of youth in the country as an asset for the nation, Shri Vijay Kapoor stressed the need to give proper exposer to the youth in the society. He also talked about gender equality and said the girls should also get proper representation in all the activities.
Prof Milind Marathe explained the ABVP’s aim of national reconstruction and cheered the ABVP for its passionate and arduous effort that has been raised ever since the inception of the world’s largest student organisation. He said the ABVP’s credentials as an effective student organisation have been established by the perseverance and struggle of its members. Ranging from the issues of Bangladeshi infiltration to the battle against corruption, ABVP has always set benchmark as a student organisation. He reiterated the need for ethical, organisational and nationalistic approach if we want a solution for the prevailing problems.
He said it is wrong to call students as citizens of future, as the students play an active role in most of the social activities today itself. “It is the section of the society which has lesser vested interest and that is why the students have the courage to call the wrong as wrong,” he said. Prof Marathe described the ABVP as an ‘open university of man making’, as the youth here learn that national interest is always supreme.
Shri Umesh Datt spoke about the charming and energetic personality of Prof Yeshwantrao Kelakar, after whom the Youth Award has been instituted by the ABVP and the Vidyarthi Nidhi Nyas. Receiving the Youth Award Smt. Manan Chaturvedi urged the delegates present at the venue to feel the travails of the society and work for the eradication of pains and strains from the society. Stirring up zeal and gaiety among the delegates she was vibrant in her speech. She asserted that for the establishment of an empowered society, woman power has to shoulder the responsibility of the next generation.
Addressing the delegates on second day, ABVP organising secretary Shri Sunil Ambekar said the fight against corruption has to be dealt beyond Lokpal as it is not the only remedy. The fight has to be given the right direction as the corrupt elements are eyeing to misdirect the entire efforts being raised against corruption and derail the movement. It’s a comprehensive fight devoid of any individual battle or any particular organisation. Any discrimination on any ground is intolerable.
ABVP’s joint organisation secretary Shri Sunil Bansal said the ABVP is determined to produce a conclusive battle against corruption. Appreciating the goal oriented approach of Youth Against Corruption (YAC) he said the YAC is prepared in its approach to uproot the corrupts and corruption.
The second day of the Conference saw five parallel sessions on educational reform, police reform, administrative reform, judicial reform, electoral reform and anti-corruption laws. RSS Sahsarkaryavah Shri Suresh Soni, former DGP of UP Police Shri Prakash Singh, former LG of Delhi Shri Vijay Kapoor, senior BJP leader Shri Bal Apte, BJP MP Shri Ravishankar Prasad and CA Shri Gopal Aggarwal guided the delegates on all these issues. The convention also adopted several resolutions on education, corruption, present political scenario in the country and China.
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