Eminent personalities like Adv Ram Jethmalani, Praful Patel, Sonali Kulkarni, Priyanka Chaturvedi, Preeti Sharma, Saroj Pandey, KN Govindacharya, Dr Hemanth Satyanarayana, Ashhar Farhan, Mahesh Murthy, Manish Harodia, Anuja Kapoor, Dr K Venkatesham, Dr Bhushan Kumar Upadhyay and many more marked their presence at the 4th National Student Parliament and shared their views on relevant topics. The two-day event was divided into five sessions namely – Achhe Din: Dream and Reality, Innovation: Need of Growing India, Decoding Crime: Fighting the Enemy Within, Winning is all that matters and Freedom of Speech and Expression.

Inaugural Session:

NCP leader Praful Patel and Marathi film actress Sonali Kulkarni were the chief guests who inaugurated the event. Journalist Manish Awasthi along with the chairman of Raisoni Group of Institutions Sunil Raisoni were also present. Shweta Shelgaokar hosted the programme.

Session one (Acche Din: Dream and Reality)

The famous slogan by the BJP – Acche din aa rahe hai? ? which was a rage during the general Parliament elections of 2014, was created to inform people about issues like corruption, financial scams, inflation, rising prices of fuels and essential commodities. Day one saw a debate on the topic Acche Din: Dream and Reality, to know whether the BJP was actually able to fulfill their promise or not. Spokesperson of All India Congress Committee, Priyanka Chaturvedi and spokesperson of Aam Admi Party, Preeti Sharma spoke against the topic and pointed out the disabilities and mismanagement done by the BJP government so far. On the other hand, politician and member of the Bhartiya Janta Party, Saroj Pandey, defended the topic and pointed out the good deeds of the BJP as well as Narendra Modi. Also, K.N. Govindacharya, Pracharak from Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, praised the BJP government for their work done in the recent past.

Session two (Innovation: Need of Growing India)

Eminent businessmen of the country Dr Hemant Satyanarayan, Manish Harodia, Mahesh Murthy and Ashhar Farhan spoke about their journey and the innovative ideas they implemented. They even spoke on sustainable and cost effective solutions, which made their products highly successful.

Session three (Decoding Crime: Fighting the Enemy Within)

Anuja Kapoor, Criminal Psychologist explained criminal behavior and the intentions of criminals behind crimes. She even explained how out of nowhere petty anger issues lead to crimes. On the other hand, Nagpur Commissioner of Police, K Venkatesham highlighted the role of guardians and the importance of positive thinking. He added, They should train their children on how to control their anger. Parents should be friendly with their children so that they feel comfortable and frank. Positive atmosphere of the family makes the thinking of the child positive, by which capability of showing anger to others decline.

Additional DGP and Chief Vigilance Officer, Kulwant Sarangal and Additional Prison In Charge, Dr Bhushan Kumar Upadhyay, narrated their personal experiences during their job as policemen in tough situations and shared some techniques to deal with criminals in jail, remand rooms, etc. Last but not the least, Laxmi Agrawal, acid attack victim from New Delhi, shared her unfortunate story of being a victim. She encouraged the youth to face and fight all situations, come what may. She even proudly declared herself as a survivor and not a victim. She said, Feelings like desire, anger, emotional attachment, jealousy or even greed and arrogance lead to crime. To fight against your enemy, you have to be a survivor and not a victim of any incident.

Session four (Winning is all that matters)

Abhijeet Barse, founder of the organisation Slum Soccer, shared his success story with the youngsters and guided them to not to leave hope even after repeated failures. He also encouraged the audience and suggested them to keep patience for achieving success. On the other hand, the multitalented Dr Maral Yazarloo, PhD in Marketing, Fashion Designer and Bike Rider, shared her experience by guiding the youngsters to enjoy their freedom to the fullest by saying, Dreams for the future belong to those, who believe in the beauty of their dreams.

Session five (Freedom of Speech and Expression)

Can freedom of speech and expression be availed in unlimited manner or it needs to be regulated with some limitations To clarify this confusion, senior journalist Ved Pratap Vaidik, justice VC Daga ( Retd.) and renowned advocate Ram Jethmalani shared their views over the same and explained the limitations and the reasons behind those limitations. They also explained the students that one has the liberty to speak and express but with reasonable restrictions. One should not forget that truth cannot be hidden for long. Honesty and truth will eventually come out in open.

Students from several colleges of Nagpur also participated and shared their views.  The 4th National Student Parliament was organsied by Raisoni Group of Institution on January 19 and 20, 2017 at GH Raisoni College of Engineering, Nagpur.

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Pictures: Suyash Sethiya