NDTV — broadcast
20260920 203000 UTC
366 transcript segments
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[00:00:00] We have brought a person who will tell us
[00:00:03] what today's Gen Z really wants. What does the government,
[00:00:07] the Modi government, the Prime Minister expect from the youth and what
[00:00:11] promises is the government bringing before
[00:00:15] this youth? Let's talk
[00:00:17] to Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs and Minority
[00:00:21] Affairs, Kiran Rijiju
[00:00:41] the Parliament, is better than
[00:00:44] the youth's Parliament.
[00:00:47] actually, I had gone there for work. Here we get energy. There, a little tension
[00:00:50] is created. Here, it's tension-free with children, with youth.
[00:00:53] Why is that? Why do you find angry uncles in
[00:00:57] the Parliament? It's like that.
[00:01:01] When you fail again and again,
[00:01:04] you get a little angry.
[00:01:30] there is a criticism, you know, because
[00:01:33] you earlier, in fact, you defined what a 'dimagi naxal'
[00:01:37] is. Now people say that whenever questions are asked,
[00:01:41] whenever a young person stands up, whenever the opposition stands up, sometimes you call
[00:01:45] them 'dimagi naxal,' then you call them an angry
[00:01:48] uncle. Why? Look, there is politics in this. People
[00:01:51] set their own narratives. We cannot advise
[00:01:55] anyone on that. But we can speak our mind.
[00:01:58] Now, why do you call someone a naxal? The
[00:02:01] foundation of naxalism, how
[00:02:05] did it form? It was a naxal
[00:02:07] movement to create a separate system against
[00:02:11] the Constitution of India. They have
[00:02:14] their own courts. You have seen them catch villagers,
[00:02:17] police, and army personnel,
[00:02:21] take them to their courts,
[00:02:24] hold hearings, and then shoot them. They don't believe
[00:02:28] in the Constitution of India. So, those
[00:02:31] who hold the naxal or Maoist ideology
[00:02:34] do not believe in the Constitution of India.
[00:02:37] Secondly, they have distorted it further
[00:02:40] to separate Jammu and Kashmir, to separate Northeast India.
[00:02:44] They use the name of 'azadi' (freedom)
[00:02:48] and raise slogans of 'azadi' and say that everyone should have
[00:02:52] the freedom to live separately from India in their own way.
[00:02:54] So, this is a separatist mindset.
[00:02:58] This is the second point I mentioned. The third point
[00:03:02] is that to hinder India's growth story,
[00:03:06] when India progresses rapidly, they adopt
[00:03:09] various tactics to stop it.
[00:03:13] If we have an industrial unit, they instigate
[00:03:17] agitations in the name of the environment to shut it down,
[00:03:20] and to stop good projects like highways
[00:03:24] from being built. So, to obstruct India's growth story,
[00:03:28] they create obstacles. So,
[00:03:32] those who work to shatter India's dreams,
[00:03:35] we will call them 'naxal mindset.'
[00:03:39] So, it's 'dimagi naxal.' That's why I clearly
[00:03:43] stated that we have never called
[00:03:46] the opposition 'dimagi naxal.' But if you are
[00:03:50] an opposition MP and you fall into the categories
[00:03:53] I mentioned, then what can we do? But then how do you decide
[00:03:57] who is an angry uncle and who isn't? The Prime Minister
[00:04:01] called them angry uncles, you have to understand that. I won't
[00:04:04] explain it in too much detail here. What happens
[00:04:07] is that since 2014, the Bharatiya Janata Party has been gaining
[00:04:11] people's support in the name of Modi ji.
[00:04:14] of India in People are having full confidence in the leadership of
[00:04:17] Prime Minister. So, those who repeatedly support
[00:04:20] Modi ji and form the BJP-NDA,
[00:04:24] the other parties are losing. So, how
[00:04:28] is their loss responsible? People didn't
[00:04:32] vote for them. So, they are losing elections. And when they lose
[00:04:35] elections, they always get angry,
[00:04:37] derail this, hurl abuses, create a ruckus
[00:04:40] in Parliament, then speak against the country.
[00:04:43] So, this angry person sitting there,
[00:04:47] he has been given a description.
[00:04:49] You also know very well who an angry uncle is in
[00:04:53] Indian tradition. Tell me, some people were very upset
[00:04:56] with your swimming too. They were challenging.
[00:05:00] technique, first let's see what it is that you really set the cat among the
[00:05:03] pigeons, when you put picture of yourself swimming a video of
[00:05:07] yourself swimming, pehle aap ye bataye, have we settled this debate, who is better
[00:05:11] swimmer? is it?
[00:06:40] got angry. They said that Kiran Rijiju
[00:06:44] is swimming, copying Rahul Gandhi.
[00:06:47] They say, "Rahul Gandhi
[00:06:51] ji had not even seen a river when I had become a player."
[00:07:17] I don't swim after taking training. So the Congress
[00:07:20] started trolling. Secondly, they said that Kiran Rijiju
[00:07:24] does not know the technique of swimming. His technique
[00:07:27] is not right. He doesn't know how to swim.
[00:07:50] that we haven't taken any training. Rahul Gandhi ji
[00:07:53] was born with a silver
[00:07:57] spoon, so he gets training for everything. Where will we
[00:08:00] get training? We were born in the jungle and mountains. We are
[00:08:04] original people. We don't need training.
[00:08:07] I objected a little because a spokesperson of Congress
[00:08:11] said that Kiran
[00:08:15] Rijiju has swum half-naked. So I said, "Do
[00:08:18] you swim in a suit and boots?" Just think about their
[00:08:22] thinking. Later I said, "Okay,
[00:08:26] it's the Congress party. They are very angry,
[00:08:30] so they couldn't even accept my
[00:08:38] is going to stick to you 'cause you had said, "I am the biggest
[00:08:41] player here."
[00:09:43] so they become emotional. Emotional.
[00:09:46] So
[00:09:48] if they don't get attention from Delhi, they become
[00:09:52] disheartened. I was Minister of State for Home Affairs for
[00:09:56] five years from 2014 to
[00:09:58] 2019. Before me,
[00:10:01] the
[00:10:04] groups of involved in
[00:10:07] militancy, how did they go into
[00:10:10] jungle? A small
[00:10:25] there was no one to listen to in Delhi. Suppose there is a community
[00:10:29] of 50,000 people. Their representatives came to Delhi.
[00:10:32] They are waiting in Delhi for weeks and weeks. Nobody in
[00:10:35] the Home Ministry or Government of India is giving time. Even a Joint
[00:10:39] Secretary thinks, "Oh, a small community has come.
[00:10:43] I don't have time. I am a Secretary of the Government of India, a Joint Secretary."
[00:10:46] They don't give time. They wait and wait,
[00:10:50] get disheartened, and after a month, no one listens to them in Delhi.
[00:10:53] They go back and emotionally pick up a gun,
[00:10:56] throw bombs, thinking that with guns
[00:11:00] and bombs, they might listen.
[00:11:03] In this way, militancy increased so much in the Northeast,
[00:11:06] so much militancy came that it started affecting
[00:11:10] the growth of the Northeast. Peace
[00:11:13] will bring prosperity. But there was no
[00:11:17] peace. So, no one was listening. So, we started listening.
[00:11:21] Even if one person came to me, I would meet them.
[00:11:26] Let me tell you for the record, some militant
[00:11:29] groups of a community went into the jungle with guns to train.
[00:11:33] Later, talks happened. We had a ceasefire. I met
[00:11:37] them, and they surrendered. In the last 12 years,
[00:11:41] more than 1000 people from the Northeast
[00:11:45] who were involved in militancy have surrendered with
[00:11:48] their weapons. So, this is not a small
[00:11:51] achievement. In Manipur,
[00:11:56] the unfortunate ethnic clashes
[00:11:59] that happened between Meitei-Kuki
[00:12:03] and Naga-Kuki, have been a setback for me. I am also pained
[00:12:06] because, unfortunately, due to misunderstandings
[00:12:10] among themselves, there are many reasons. There is no time to mention
[00:12:14] them here now. Leaving Manipur aside,
[00:12:17] the rest of the Northeast has become militant-free.
[00:12:21] Just think, earlier, every 10 kilometers,
[00:12:25] there would be gunshots and sounds of bullets.
[00:12:28] Today, there is peace. So
[00:12:31] this emotional connection that the PM made,
[00:12:34] as I mentioned earlier, we built roads, electricity, water, airports,
[00:12:38] and railways. That is hard infrastructure.
[00:12:41] Connecting hearts is also equally important. So the Prime Minister
[00:12:44] said, "The Ashtalakshmi, the
[00:12:48] eight states being described as Ashtalakshmi, we
[00:12:52] must reach out to them. Why should they only come to
[00:12:55] Delhi? Every month, 15
[00:12:58] ministers, five cabinet ministers and 10 ministers of
[00:13:01] states are bound to go to
[00:13:05] Northeast. It's a must." Prime Minister
[00:13:08] has issued a directive that all ministers
[00:13:11] must go and not just come and go.
[00:13:15] They must stay in distant
[00:13:18] districts. So, this work of connecting hearts
[00:13:21] has brought them very close. is going to be completely
[00:13:55] transformed. Our
[00:13:59] Northeast youth will not require
[00:14:02] to struggle for basic things. We will ensure
[00:14:06] that every Northeastern region part,
[00:14:09] every state is as
[00:14:12] vibrant as any progressive state in the country. You know, you spoke of
[00:14:16] ministers going to the Northeast. I want to actually show on video. I am the biggest player,
[00:14:20] but there is another player
[00:14:23] who... Who is the other player? Yes, we will show you the video of that
[00:14:27] player. Now I don't think you are a bigger player
[00:14:31] than him. What do you think? Who is the bigger
[00:14:35] player? Now he is my boss.
[00:14:57] This is yours,
[00:15:14] that's the Prime Minister in Sikkim and he
[00:15:17] scored a goal too. Tell me, who is the bigger player?
[00:15:20] Look, everyone already knows about the Prime Minister.
[00:15:23] seen a person
[00:15:27] so disciplined in life, so focused and fit as
[00:15:31] Modi ji. When I was Minister for Youth Affairs and
[00:15:34] Sports, Prime Minister told me, "Ji,
[00:15:38] the 'Khelo India' that is going on, we started 'Khelo India',
[00:15:42] the 'Khelo India' that is going on is for players.
[00:15:45] Now, all Indians need to be made fit.
[00:15:49] Every Indian must be fit. If you are
[00:15:52] fit, you can make your country fit and fine." So,
[00:15:56] then that 'Fit India' movement started. I thought
[00:16:00] about the Prime Minister. He wants the fitness
[00:16:03] culture to prevail all around. So, the best thing would
[00:16:06] be 'Fit India'.
[00:16:54] Vajpayee ji. I was very young,
[00:16:57] very immature, but I contested the election
[00:17:01] and lost. Nobody in the Northeast even knew
[00:17:05] the BJP at that time, and no one
[00:17:08] voted for it. I have seen the BJP very closely.
[00:17:11] It is a nationalist party. If this party comes to power,
[00:17:15] it will take care of our border areas and the people in remote
[00:17:18] areas. India First, there would be some enthusiasm.
[00:17:21] We had no hope from Congress.
[00:17:24] So we joined BJP. But I lost
[00:17:27] the election. After losing the election,
[00:17:31] I went to Atal Bihari Vajpayee ji. I was very sad.
[00:17:35] "Atal ji, I have lost the election. What should I do?"
[00:17:38] Ram Naik ji was sitting with us, who was the Petroleum
[00:17:42] Minister and later became the Governor
[00:17:45] of UP. So as soon as I said, "Atal ji, I have lost the election, what
[00:17:48] should I do?" Immediately, Ram Naik ji
[00:17:51] said, "Hey Kiran, don't worry. Atal ji also lost his first
[00:17:55] election." Then Atal ji said, "If Ram Naik
[00:17:59] ji had his way, should everyone lose their first election?" So
[00:18:02] then he brought me into the commission, gave me a chance to
[00:18:06] work. I was the National Secretary of the party, but I
[00:18:10] worked in the commission for five years. But in 2004, I
[00:18:14] worked with full preparation. People
[00:18:17] then voted in large numbers
[00:18:20] and made me a Member of Parliament at a very young age.
[00:18:23] And the way I worked, you were probably
[00:18:27] there at that time, I don't remember.
[00:18:30] In 2008, there was a conclave
[00:18:33] of the entire media. There was a voting among the media
[00:18:38] on who is the best young Member of Parliament. So I
[00:18:42] am happy to tell you that I was given the award for the best young
[00:18:45] Parliamentarian. I was
[00:18:48] very active. I was
[00:18:51] active because it was necessary
[00:18:54] and I consider it a duty.
[00:18:57] Our state, Arunachal Pradesh, is a very big
[00:19:01] state. The population is less, so there are two MPs.
[00:19:05] I used to think that one
[00:19:37] have started saying that decisions will not be made in Parliament, but on the
[00:19:40] streets. What will you say? People say, "Enough is enough, now the public will decide
[00:19:44] on the streets." The anarchists
[00:19:47] think all this. They think that even if we lose
[00:19:51] the election, I will decide on the street what the law of the country should be. So,
[00:19:54] what is the meaning of democracy? The
[00:19:57] basic tenets of democracy is every citizen rule
[00:20:01] themselves through elected representatives. The
[00:20:04] electoral college is defined. We
[00:20:37] very serious note,
[00:20:41] there are many civilizations in the world, Chinese civilization,
[00:20:45] Japanese, Indian civilizations,
[00:20:47] Europe.
[00:20:50] So, have you ever heard of Gen Z or Western
[00:20:54] concepts in China? Why only in India?
[00:20:57] Because basically our
[00:21:01] knowledge is English
[00:21:03] fate, British common law, English common
[00:21:07] law, American influence is quite strong. So, those
[00:21:10] who are more active on social media, they have a kind
[00:21:14] of Western concept. Our concept is that we call
[00:21:18] youth.
[00:21:50] do for America. That's why it became a superpower.
[00:21:53] That country.
[00:21:56] We demand so much, "What is the government doing for me and
[00:21:59] the country?" Ask what I am doing for the country.
[00:22:03] When both happen, in the Constitution,
[00:22:06] fundamental rights
[00:22:08] is extremely important, which can not be
[00:22:12] compromised. But fundamental duty is also equally
[00:22:15] important. But they are saying that even to ask these question is our duty.
[00:22:18] "The government is not listening to us. We are not listening. Now we will listen on the streets."
[00:22:22] That can't happen. We are children, we will explain nicely.
[00:23:33] that is currently going on, the bill could not be passed in the Lok Sabha. But Sir, a state like Bihar has 40 Lok Sabha seats.
[00:23:37] And Sir, if we compare it with Tamil Nadu, it also has
[00:23:40] 40 seats. But Sir, when delimitation happens, I am reading the
[00:23:44] newspaper, there will be almost 850 seats. So Sir,
[00:23:47] the benefit that Bihar will get from an increase
[00:23:51] in Lok Sabha seats, Sir, the Southern states will not get the same
[00:23:55] benefit. So no, Sir, it won't be that much. So Sir, what measures is the government
[00:23:58] taking so that the Southern states are not disproportionately affected
[00:24:15] is that whatever steps the government takes, it should not
[00:24:19] disproportionately affect the southern states. Let me correct you a bit. Your information
[00:24:45] there are 543 Lok Sabha seats. Currently,
[00:24:49] in the Lok Sabha, we will increase
[00:24:52] it by 50%. When we increase
[00:24:55] it by 50%, how can it mean that Tamil Nadu will get less and
[00:24:59] Bihar will get more? Bihar has 40 seats.
[00:25:02] Tamil Nadu has 39, not 40. Tamil Nadu has
[00:25:05] 39. And when it increases
[00:25:09] by 50%, 40 will become 60.
[00:25:12] Obviously, it's a simple calculation.
[00:25:16] UP currently has 80 seats, so it will become 120.
[00:25:20] The one with two seats will become three. It's a simple
[00:25:22] arithmetic. Politically,
[00:25:25] to
[00:25:27] some people have spread false
[00:25:31] propaganda. But later it became clear. Now, almost
[00:25:34] all the parties that voted against it, everyone said
[00:25:38] that no, no, the Congress party spread a lot of lies. Now it's clear. Most
[00:25:42] people will now support it when the bill is brought next time. So
[00:25:45] that's why we don't want to harm
[00:25:49] any state, and we won't.
[00:25:52] What is the fundamental point?
[00:25:55] The electoral system is all about proportionate
[00:25:58] representation. One person, one vote. Isn't
[00:26:02] that the fundamental principle in democracy?
[00:26:06] That if you are a millionaire of 10 crores, you won't
[00:26:09] get two votes. A billionaire also has one vote,
[00:26:12] a common man also has one vote. So
[00:26:16] just think, in some states,
[00:26:18] one MLA constituency has 4 lakh
[00:26:22] voters. In some, like Lakshadweep, there is one MP
[00:26:25] with 53 votes. So there is
[00:26:29] also a difference geographically. Thirdly,
[00:27:32] they will go around 816 or 820. That's natural. We are
[00:27:36] the most populous nation on the Earth. That much is expected. Sir, is this
[00:27:39] going to happen soon? Because there are many conspiracy theories that it hasn't been
[00:27:42] prorogued yet, so they will bring it now, they will bring it now. Who knows when Rijiju ji
[00:27:46] will secretly bring this bill without telling us. No, if
[00:27:50] I tell you now, there will be a huge ruckus today. I can't
[00:27:54] say, but a ruckus happens in Parliament. No, it wasn't prorogued because sometimes
[00:27:57] it has happened before, this is not the first time. When we end Parliament,
[00:28:01] we sign for adjournment indefinitely.
[00:28:04] But now we haven't
[00:28:07] prorogued it, so this is not the first time. Whenever
[00:28:11] they want, they can call Parliament. Will they call it soon?
[00:28:14] We won't say, but there is a provision to call it.
[00:28:18] It's not like they are waiting for a number. No, I won't go that deep
[00:28:22] because it's after the rule. So there is a provision to call. Sir, tell me
[00:28:26] that you know, whenever we have analyzed the numbers, and now
[00:28:29] suddenly everybody is talking about this Gen Z vote. But I remember
[00:28:33] my was something that we tracked in elections throughout, and
[00:28:36] even in the 2014 elections, I remember postponed analysis found that a
[00:28:40] large number of youth, especially skilled and educated youth was
[00:28:43] voting for the BJP. Why is that? What do you think are the
[00:28:47] factors that work there? And has that changed on the ground now after all
[00:28:51] these protests and Jantar Mantar up-rising that? See, the aspiration of the youth has
[00:28:54] increased tremendously. Social media
[00:28:58] started tricking down around
[00:29:01] 2008, 9, 10 in Facebook
[00:29:04] and slowly then Twitter came, then Instagram and
[00:29:07] all. When we came to power, when Modi ji became Prime
[00:29:11] Minister, the social media started at large
[00:29:14] scale. So the aspiration of the youth have
[00:29:17] risen. So the youth of that time,
[00:29:21] which could not gain enough
[00:29:23] of opportunity for themselves, they thought, we need a new
[00:29:26] leader. India could not become a developed nation in last 70
[00:29:30] years. The reality.
[00:29:33] In 1947,
[00:29:35] we gained independence. We didn't become rich, did we? What difference does it make what I or
[00:29:38] you say? India is not a rich country. India is not a developed country.
[00:29:42] This is a reality. Who will make India a rich,
[00:29:46] powerful country? We didn't even have a goal,
[00:29:50] there was no set target when India would become rich,
[00:29:53] powerful, and developed.
[00:29:56] So people started thinking, especially the youth, that "your
[00:30:00] life is over, old people." Now India
[00:30:03] could not become a rich nation. In our lifetime, India must
[00:30:07] be rich, powerful, and prosperous. They decided
[00:30:10] that it could only happen under Modi ji's
[00:30:13] leadership. That is how, that is how the youth
[00:30:17] a
[00:30:19] massive scale voted for Modi ji and he created
[00:30:23] a record and then after 2014, the
[00:30:27] target was set 2047,
[00:30:30] India will be a developed nation and and then so many
[00:30:33] steps are taken on the way, one by one, one
[00:30:37] after another. So that is how I feel the youth are feeling
[00:30:41] that if they have to realize their
[00:30:44] dreams, then they need a visionary statesman, a
[00:30:47] great leader like Modi ji to continue to lead us. And that
[00:30:51] is true. Today India is the fastest growing economy in the world. Do you think we used to cry
[00:30:54] at that time that India's economic growth was so far behind?