Give half Lok Sabha tickets to youth: Chidambaram

New Delhi: Congress leader P. Chidambaram said on Friday that the party should shift its focus to the youth and presented a 'radical' suggestion that tickets for one half of the 543 seats in Lok Sabha should be reserved for those under 35 years.

Noting that it was time to embrace the youth as 68 per cent of the total 83 crore voters in the country was below 35 years, he said,"I appeal to the Congress president that if the growth is for the youth, I have a radical idea and I do not know how popular I will be after that".

"I believe that at least one half of the Parliament seats... that 272 Parliament seats the Congress party must give to candidates who are below the age of 35," he said at the AICC meet here, adding young India must be trusted with the authority of power and responsibility.

At this party president Sonia Gandhi was seen smiling and gesturing something to Kumari Selja.

Rahul Gandhi was not present when Chidambaram was speaking. Carrying on with his focus for youth empowerment, Chidambaram gave the slogan "young India empowered India".

Chidambaram, a Tamilian, said in Hindi "Yuva Bharat Sashakat Bharat".

Party MP Priya Dutt also suggested that the party should put a cap of the number of times a candidate can contest elections to three so as to give the younger generation a chance.

The party resolution committed to create 10 million jobs for youth every year and skilling young Indians to take in these jobs.

The party also welcomed the new national youth policy approved by the UPA government last week, which aims to empower the youth to achieve their full potential.

Noting that safety and welfare of women will always remain an overarching priority of Congress, the resolution pledged to continue the "unrelenting focus on the issues of women's safety, welfare and empowerment".

Chidambaram utilised the occasion to attack BJP, accusing it of being greedy for power and expressed confidence that the UPA government will return to power after the ensuing Lok Sabha polls under Rahul Gandhi's leadership.

He attacked BJP's 272 seat mission, saying it reflects their greed, ambitions and hunger for power.

"This is why we find from their platforms and gatherings, their political language is a language of slander and a language of abuse. Our mission is to serve and work, not merely capture Parliament. "Our mission is to unite and serve, not to divide and rule," he said.

He said the mission of his party is to build more liberal, more democratic, more participative and more progressive governance.

The Union minister said the Congress party has been behind every milestone that the country has achieved since independence.

The party not only ushered the economic liberalisation in 1991, which was a turning point for the country, but achieved a major milestone by liberating Bangladesh in 1971.

The emergence of India as a nuclear power was also ushered in under Congress when Indira Gandhi was the prime minister.

"Every legislation that liberated people of India and empowered them was passed by Parliament when Congress was in Government," he added.