‘Cheers’ to youth unity across party lines

Prashun Bhaumik |

By Sanjiv Acharya

Tathagat Satpathy of the Biju Janata Dal is a young and popular member of parliament from Dhenkanal, Orissa and counts amongst his friends a whole bunch of young MPs cutting across party lines. He first called attention to himself on the national political stage when, in the Lok Sabha, he took a brave position of opposing the bill that provided for 27 percent reservation for OBCs in centrally aided educational institutions.

In an unusual occurrence for the House he gave a straightforward speech in which he said, “Everybody wants to become the champion of the backward. It does not matter if the champion is a Rajput or a king or a zamindar. You have to recognize merit only when you bring in the OBC or ST or SC from the lowest of the low, from the poorest of the poor. If they are fed well, clothed well, educated well, then they become competitive. We do not do that; we cheat them; we try to take their votes; we try to benefit from their backwardness; and we give them solace that: ‘Listen, you are backward; we will do something for you…’ It is a question of what kind of a society do we want to create. I would like to question the hon. Members of Parliament from both sides of the House to give in writing that when they go to CGHS dispensary or RML Hospital, it should be mandatory that they should get a doctor who comes from their community or from the backward community, and they shall not in for a doctor who is qualified.”

Though the Bill was passed unanimously, Tathagat earned the image of a straight talking politician, which just added to his popularity amongst young MPs across party lines. So last week when he threw a dinner party at his house almost all young leaders from all parties congregated at his house. The interesting thing was that the young Congress MPs – amongst them, Sachin Pilot, Jitin Prasada, Madhu Yaskhi Goud and Milind Deora – who were invited to his party also had to attend a dinner organized by Sonia Gandhi that very night. However while the young Congress MPs put in an appearance at Sonia’s dinner, none of them ate – now whether that is a testament to their friendship or whether they were looking forward to a more interesting mix at Tathagat’s house is not known. After all that was a more youthful party with all the elements for a ‘cheery’ good time, including an hour-long guitar performance by Milind Deora.