Hyderabad: Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy has called for a change in the age limit for those wanting to become legislators. He urged the Minister for Legislative Affairs, D Sridhar Babu, to bring up a resolution in the next Assembly session to seek a constitutional amendment. The goal is to lower the minimum age for contesting elections from 25 to 21 years.
Earlier in the day, Revanth Reddy participated in a “Mock Assembly” held for under-18 students. He encouraged the young participants, acting as MLAs, to pass a resolution on the issue. He also asked them to raise the matter with the President and Prime Minister and to submit it to parliament members from the state. This way, the issue could be discussed in upcoming sessions.
Revanth Reddy highlighted that many young people excel in various fields by the age of 21. He questioned why they couldn’t also stand for elections at that age and help shape the country’s future. He believes that having more young representatives in the Assembly would lead to better attention on issues like education, sports, and employment.
The Chief Minister reminded the students that it was former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi who lowered the voting age from 21 to 18, thanks to a constitutional amendment. He stressed that young people should remember and appreciate who granted them the right to vote.
During the Mock Assembly, students from different educational institutions acted as MLAs and successfully passed two bills – the Drug Abuse Bill and the Headquarters Bill.
