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Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy proposed reducing the lower age limit to contest elections to the Legislative Assemblies and Lok Sabha from 25 to 21, amid the student movement that successfully urged Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan to resign over recurring exam paper leaks.
Addressing the public on Saturday, July 25 during a candlelight rally in Hyderabad protesting the police violence on students at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar, CM Revanth emphasised the representation of Gen Z in legislative bodies. He said a special resolution would soon be introduced in the Telangana Legislative Assembly to reduce the age limit to contest elections, which will also be forwarded to the Union government.
He also promised that if Congress leader Rahul Gandhi becomes Prime Minister, the Union Education Minister from his Cabinet would be a member of Gen Z.
The CM was participating in a rally organised by the Telangana Congress, from People’s Plaza to Necklace Road, to protest the NEET question paper leak and the lathi-charge against students at Jantar Mantar. The rally also demanded compensation for the families of students who died by suicide and revoke cases booked against the students.
Revanth recalled that during former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi’s tenure, the 61st Constitutional Amendment was enacted to lower the voting age from 21 to 18. He also highlighted that when PV Narasimha Rao was PM, the eligibility age for contesting elections to posts such as Mayor and Zilla Parishad (ZP) chairperson in urban and rural local bodies was reduced from 25 to 21 years.
This decision was the reason that Arya Rajendran became the Mayor of Thiruvananthapuram at the age of 21 in 2020, Revanth noted.
