Private member Bill to reserve 10 seats in LS for those below 35 years introduced

New Delhi: A private member’s Bill seeking to reserve 10 seats in the Lok Sabha for those below 35 years of age was introduced in the House on Friday with Congress MP Shashi Tharoor asserting that young members are a clear minority in Parliament and this is leading to a “democratic deficit”.

The Bill introduced by Tharoor will need an amendment to the Constitution’s Article 81 that defines the composition of the Lower House of Parliament. Currently, the average age of the 543-member House is 55 years.

“India has more than 50 per cent of its population below the age of 25 and more than 65 per cent below the age of 35. The country’s median age is 28. India as a country is young,” according to the Bill.

“However, its leaders are not. The average age of an Indian parliamentarian is 55. In particular, young citizens are an ‘excluded majority’ with an insufficient presence. Today, those under the age of 35 represent more than half of the world’s population but in political office, as elected representatives, they are a clear minority. This in itself is a democratic deficit,” it stated.

Later in a post on X, Tharoor said, “We already hold the world record for the biggest gap between the average age of the population and the average age of Parliament. It is essential that the voices of young people be heard in the highest legislative organ of the country”.

“If voters are seeking representatives who reflect their interests, they may choose candidates who are roughly their age. This proactive measure of reserving seats in the House of the People will send a signal to our youth that they also have a place in politics,” Tharoor said of the Bill. “Young adults need representatives whom they can relate to, and who are sensitive to their aspirations and motivated to raise issues that impact them as well.

Our youth population is one of the largest in the world and this creates a demographic dividend that could play a significant role in making India a developed nation,” he added.