A National Youth Parliament can be best described as a means of improving not just researching skills but also cooperation, knowledge, coordination, communication and deliberation skills. Public Concern for Governance Trust (PCGT), in association with VIT Pune MUNSoc organized an e-National Youth Parliament on the 3rd and 4th of October 2020. About 130 individuals were a part of the conference making this event a complete success.
Proceedings of Lok Sabha :
The agenda of Lok Sabha, the Lower House of Indian Parliament was “Discussion of Data Protection Bill, 2019”. The committee started with Opening Statements. At 11 AM, Pre-Legislative Business was commenced with a Question hour in which Parliamentarians asked questions to each other, followed by a Zero hour in which urgent matters of public importance were discussed. Issues that need immediate discussions such as ‘The Farm Bill, 2020’ and ‘the revival of economy post-COVID-19’ were brought up. Next up, the committee started the Legislative Business, i.e. discussion of the bill at hand. The following day, topics such as ‘data anonymization’ and ‘role of the Data Protection Authority’ were discussed. In all, the Parliamentarians had a fruitful discussion.
Proceedings of Rajya Sabha :
Rajya Sabha is the Upper House of the Indian Parliament and its agenda was to discuss the “Pregnancy (Amendment) Bill, 2020”. Members of the Parliament began the proceedings with their Introductory speeches. Minister of Health and Family Welfare introduced this progressive bill that acknowledges a cosmopolitan India in several aspects. In the same breath, they went on to discuss the shortcomings of the bill and raised concerns over the provisions for minors and refugees. The amendments to have expert medical practitioners were made to guarantee the protection of those who require abortion, keeping in mind the rural and social challenges they might face in seeking medical assistance. The committee successfully passed a few amendments to the bill. Conclusively, the Parliamentarians had a great time discussing an amendment bill that is of utmost importance to all the women of the Nation.
Proceedings of All India Political Parties Meet (AIPPM) :
All India Political Parties Meet was simulated in order to discuss the ‘National Education Policy, 2020’. It is the first education policy of the 21st century that aims to address the growing developmental imperatives of our country. This Policy proposes the revision and revamping of all aspects of the education structure. Representatives from political parties comprehensively discussed the NEP. Many praised the policy and suggested additions, whereas others expressed worries over prospective results as it would directly impact a large section of the Youth. One major topic that the representative focused on was multilingualism which is supported by the NEP, 2020. Since the representatives had widely differing opinions, they could not reach a mutual consensus. Nevertheless, it was a fruitful and much-required deliberation which the representatives and spectators enjoyed.
The Press :
Reporters of Press covered all the committees of Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha and AIPPM and reported on the proceedings accordingly. They observed the debate take shape and witnessed the path each committee took over its agenda and wrote beautifully crafted reports on the committee happenings which was sent to the Press Head and the Editor-in-Chief, who compiled them in order to make a newsletter. The Newsletter for PCGT e-National Youth Parliament, Pune titled “Darpan” was published. The Newsletter was received well by the participants, the Executive Board, the Organizing Committee as well as the spectators and chief guests.
Highlights of the Closing Ceremony :
The conference concluded with a closing ceremony that involved the speeches by eminent chief guest Shailesh Gandhi and founder of the Public Concern for Governance Trust (PCGT) Sri. Julio Ribero and Sri Satish Khot.
Mr. Shailesh Gandhi in his speech beautifully described the need for the people to understand the importance of a good democracy, educating all the attendees about the importance of the Right To Information Act (RTI) and stated how essential it is for a significant democracy like India. He encouraged the youth to take up responsibility for a promising tomorrow and elegantly ended his speech with a quote by famous poet Mirza Ghalib.
Sri Julio Ribero in his speech reiterated the need for good governance and said that by constructively discussing policies, the youth is taking a step ahead to ensure the same. Ending his speech, he asserted the need for more such simulations and applauded the conference and the VIT Pune MUN Society team for organizing the event and executing it flawlessly.
The President of the Organizing Committee, Ms. Komal Mekala, ended the conference with a vote of thanks and bid adieu to all the participants wishing them the very best for their future.
Anurag, the Inquisitive Engineer hailing from the House of Precision, is unwavering in his pursuit of perfection on the professional battlefield. Persistent learner, Aesthete photographer. An ardent football enthusiast, memes & Game of Thrones fanatic.
