Netas and Gen Z come together at outreach programme in Bengaluru

BENGALURU: A Gen Z outreach programme held at Bengaluru’s Palace Grounds on Thursday saw the participation of a few thousand youngsters, with political leaders calling for greater involvement of the younger generation in decision-making.

Speaking to TNIE, KPCC president BK Hariprasad said the younger generation had demonstrated its ability to influence political discourse and could not be excluded from the decision-making process. “Gen Z has shown Modi and Shah what they are capable of. They have great things ahead to achieve.

No one can leave Gen Z out of the decision-making process. We need to involve them and work with them,” he said. Former DCM and BJP MLA Dr CN Ashwath Narayan also underlined the importance of engaging with the youth. “Gen Z is crucial to our nation’s growth and we need to take them along,” he said.

Former Karnataka Youth Congress president Mohammed Nalapad said political leaders needed to devote more time to listening to the concerns of youngsters.”Our CM sits and speaks to our generation for 30 minutes. We need to have ministers like that at the Centre who will give time to Generation Z and not crack down on them,” he said. Referring to concerns raised by youngsters over the conduct of competitive examinations, including NEET, Nalapad said their grievances should be taken seriously.

Congress MLA NA Haris said the traditional description of Gen Z as the “future” was no longer adequate. “I would add and tell them that you are not only the future, but also the present,” he said.