Politics- a word plastered all across news channels and newspapers. A word that echoes on every family function’s dinner table and imprints itself on everyone’s mind. A word that leaves everyone often catching themselves wondering, what is it like to be a politician?
To give the participants an inside view of modern politics and a platform to voice their opinions, UPG’s Eloquence organized Siyaasat 2021. Siyaasat took place on the 19th of February 2021, at 5 pm, and was conducted on Microsoft Teams. The participants were divided into 3 teams (with 3 participants each) and had to each create a political party alongside their teammates. The event was moderated by UPG’s very own third-year students, Mr. Meet Maru (the president of UPG’s Eloquence committee) and Ms. Simran Ailani.
The first round, Hukumat-e-Hindustan, allowed the parties to showcase themselves in the form of their logos and speeches. They were given 5 mins to design their logos and had to subsequently present them. The first party was the Satyavadi Yuva Party, followed by the Youth Party of India, followed by the Reformed Republic. Each party was expected to explain their vision and elaborate upon their goals.
A mock Parliament, Sansad Sameelan, threw light on the participants’ group discussion capabilities. The topic of discussion was Article 46 of the constitution, which states, “The State shall promote with special care the educational and economic interests of the weaker sections of the people, and, in particular, of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes, and shall protect them from social injustice and all forms of exploitation.” Each party was expected to explicate their stance on reservations for the SC and ST communities and whether the article should be removed. For a proposal to be passed, it would require a 75% majority from the Parliament.
The participants highlighted various reasons as to why they believe whether the article should or should not exist. Points in favor of removing the article included equal competition, changes in the nature of the society, and disadvantages for general quota students. Points against removing the article included discrimination against lower-caste individuals and consideration for all members of the SC and ST communities. The correlation between caste and class, which eventually reflects in the economic backwardness in the nation, was also one of the key points discussed. This led to the first proposal of removing the article not passing. Most participants agreed on a middle ground of amending the act to accommodate those truly in need by setting up a committee to regulate admissions. This allowed the second proposal, which stated that the bill needs to be amended but not removed, passing.
Round 3, Sankat Prabandh, tested the participants’ crisis management abilities by giving them problems that they had to give a statement for within a minute. The statements were followed by a press conference where anyone who was not a part of the party could address questions to them.
The situation given to the Satyavadi Yuva Party involved the release of a press report stating that the money that the party claims to use for farmers’ subsidiaries has actually been misused. The initial statement by the party urged the public to maintain their trust in them and not believe any unproven claims. They asked the newspaper that published the report for proof and prided themselves in maintaining records of every single penny, which can be obtained by filing an RTI. They also drew the press’s attention to their previous programs that have successfully digitally transferred money to farmers.
The Youth Party of India was given the nightmare-ish situation that their party leader blanked out during an election speech. They handled the problem by stating that people vote for ideologies, and not leaders and emphasized the fact that a party is more than a leader. It was questioned in the conference whether the party follows a health care protocol involving a complete physical and mental health check-up. To this, the party responded by stating that the leader just suffered a minor sunstroke and should be back on his feet soon. They were also answerable to a few rumors stating that he will be in the hospital for 6 months, which they denied. The possibility of an acting leader was also introduced.
TW: The following paragraph contains mention of sexual assault, skip to the paragraph after that if it is a potential trigger for you.
The final situation, given to the Reformed Republic, was that one of the party leaders’ son has been accused of raping a 16-year-old minor girl. The party’s initial statement was that they will be visiting the victim and her family to provide them with the necessary psychological and social support. However, after being questioned whether they know if the accusation is true or not, they clarified that this would be in the case that it is proven to be true. They requested the people to wait for medical and police reports before jumping to any conclusions. They also made the rather bold statement that in the case that the allegations are proven true, they will not continue to be associated with the leader and urged all the other parties to not be associated with anyone who has committed such a heinous crime as well.
The participants showed utmost enthusiasm and dedication throughout the event and were eagerly waiting for the winner to be declared. The winner of the event was announced as the Reformed Republic and the title of the best speaker was declared a tie between Shraddha Shetty and Ganesh Rajbhar (from the Youth Party of India). The winners were awarded customized plaques from the event sponsor Memories Cart. Siyaasat not only helped the participants in gaining an insight into the working of the world of politics, but also allowed them to sharpen their public speaking skills and grow as budding politicians.
Comentarios