Mohsina opposed Rajiv's move to lower voting age: Memoir

New Delhi, October 20

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When Rajiv Gandhi as Prime Minister wanted to make 18 the minimum age for voting in the country, many Congress members, including Mohsina Kidwai, objected.

They thought at 18, a citizen was too young to take part in the democratic process as a voter. Rajiv Gandhi responded by saying that he wanted to reduce the voting age from the prevalent 21 years to 18 to give a message to the youth that the country’s future was in their hands and they should gear up to shoulder the responsibility.

The answer rang a bell with all those who objected to the lowering of the voting age and they came round to accept Rajiv’s idea. Veteran Congress leader Kidwai (90), who first became an MLA in UP at the young age of 28, told the story while releasing her memoir at a function here today.

A distinguished panel comprising former J&K Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah, former Speaker of the Lok Sabha Shivraj Patil, former Maharashtra Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde, Congress leader and Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor and Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar took part in the function to release the book that has been co-authored by journalist Rasheed Kidwai.

Expressing concern over the ongoing attempt to create fissures in the country in the name of religion and caste, Abdullah said the country belonged to all. He said one must not give up hope and strive to make India the country that Mahatma Gandhi and Bhagat Singh had dreamt of.

Recommending the book for reading, Farooq Abdulla, however, rued the writer had made sure that the book did not stoke any controversy. It would have sold better if had contained some material that would have triggered off a controversy, he said. Shashi Tharoor described Mohsina Kidwai as a representative of the best generation of Congress leaders.