In 2000, Randeep became the chief of the Youth Congress, a post he held for five years. An advocate, he defeated Om Prakash Chautala in the previous state elections.

Conrad Sangma, 30, is the son of former Lok Sabha speaker P.A. Sangma, one of the most prominent leaders from the North-East. Conrad is both power and finance minister of Meghalaya. He is a first-time NCP MLA who holds an MBA degree and has studied law.

Manpreet Badal, 46, is the finance minister of Punjab, nephew of Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and first cousin of Sukhbir Badal, president of the Akali Dal. The first-time minister and four-time MLA is a history graduate and holds a degree in law.

The three young leaders joined us for an Idea Exchange session moderated by Chandigarh Resident Editor Vipin Pubby.

•Vipin Pubby: Could you begin by telling us a little about yourselves and what it is like to be young ministers in a political scene dominated by elderly politicians?

Manpreet Badal: Whatever else I may be, at heart I am actually just a student of history with a passion for Urdu poetry and Iqbal. After a law degree from England, I decided to come back and join politics. I have been an MLA since 1995 but this is the first time I have become a minister.

Conrad Sangma: After studying in the USA and England, I came back and started to do business mainly in the BPO and call centre sectors. I joined active politics nine years ago, when I was 21 years old. I have already fought two elections. After the Meghalaya state elections this year, we managed to form the Government with other regional parties and I became a minister. I handle five portfolios—finance, power, tourism, information technology and GAD. I am very passionate about creating employment for the youth in my area. We have a lot of talent in music and fashion, with an English-speaking population—we can tap all of that. I am also very passionate about cricket.

As for the younger generation having difficulties adjusting to senior politicians, I think we are quite lucky—young people have considerable opportunity in our Assembly. Out of about 50 MLAs, 10 are below the age of 40. In the Cabinet, five out of 12 ministers are below the age of 40. I am the youngest at 30. More than the mindset of the senior leaders, however, what we have to fight is the system that does not allow our thinking to come to the fore.

•Shekhar Gupta: The bureaucracy is more of a problem?

Conrad Sangma: The bureaucracy follows a system that has been there for 30 years. We need to instruct them to change the system. We are not ministers, we are CEOs in charge of each department and play the role of connecting with the grassroots and not just the top bureaucrat. These are the kinds of ideas the young ministers in our Government support.

Randeep Surjewala: I am 41 years old. I was an attorney at 20 and a half. I did my masters in Political Science after I became a legislator for the first time. I have practised law for 11 years. I have fought four Assembly elections so far, the first was a by-election in 1993 against Om Prakash Chautala. I lost that one but went on to win the next one against him and the three after that too. In 2000, I was made president of the Indian Youth Congress and served in that post for five years. I have been a minister now for just over three years.

•Suman K. Jha: It is said that a group of just 500 families controls the entire polity and politics of this country. The problem of dynasties pervades parties, states, and regions. Does it concern you?

Randeep Surjewala: Politics may help you if you are a Badal or have another name behind you—you may get an initial break. But irrespective of whose son, nephew or grandson you may be, you can be rejected by the electorate. There are areas where your father’s name or experience may help but you are as fallible as anyone else.

Manpreet Badal: We have to prove ourselves every five years. The Badal name works like Bata in Punjab, everybody knows that, but you are tested at a higher scale because people expect a better performance from you. It is almost like a feudal duty.

Conrad Sangma: The question is most pertinent to my family. I have my elder brother who is an MLA and is the parliamentary secretary handling Home and PWD. My younger sister is an MP and the youngest member of Parliament. And there’s me. But just because we have the brand name does not mean that we do not have the right to be in politics. Our future in politics will be determined by our performance and the people will decide whether we should continue or not. I lost the first elections I fought. I lost because I had no connection with the grassroots. I just did not know the people, their problems. I thought the brand name of Sangma would pull me through. So I do not believe in this dynastic issue. Furthermore, dynasty is a preconceived notion where the leader declares that Mr X is going to his successor. We are not doing that. We are elected representatives just like anybody else.

•Sudhanshu Khurana: Why don’t we see more young politicians who are not from political families?

Randeep Surjewala: I don’t think that is entirely correct. The media focuses on politicians who are somebody’s sons, daughters or nephews. There are at least 20 MPs who are nobody’s sons or daughters in politics. There are young politicians who are leaders in their own right, but our focus is too much on a Manpreet Badal, a Conrad Sangma, a Jyotiraditya Scindia or a Sachin Pilot. We refuse to look beyond, at other young leaders, perhaps because they are not media-savvy. But they are all wedded to the grassroots.

Shravan Sen: Conrad Sangma, when you talk about youth and merit how do you reconcile it with the fact that there is reservation in Meghalaya that gives preference to tribals?

Conrad Sangma: Personally, I feel that in a state like Meghalaya, there should be no reservation policy because the majority of the state is tribal and you end up giving reservation to them, when reservation was meant for a minority. But this is a political stand. From a general perspective I think it is unfair. That’s why I want the private sector to play a bigger role. I want to create jobs through the call centres and the BPOs. I personally have over 700 people working for me in Shillong—a sizeable number for the state. The Government has acquired about 100 acres of land, where we are going to build an IT estate. We have extended the airport, which is about 10 minutes away form this estate. We are developing a complete investment policy where we are giving up to 30 per cent capital subsidy to anybody who invests in IT and other areas.

•Coomi Kapoor: Mr Badal, what is the social composition of Punjab, where feudal politics flourishes so strongly?

Manpreet Badal: If you look at social composition, you will find only a certain set of people make it to politics in Punjab—landed families are at the forefront but also families who are in the transportation business. Many politicians in Punjab belong to a stratum that is more upper class than middle class—that is one of the pre-requisites of political success in Punjab. After the 1966 bifurcation of Punjab into Punjab and Haryana, the Jat Sikh has been the dominant factor in Punjab politics. I think there is a conscious decision in even the non-Akali governments like that of the Congress that the CM must be a Jat.

•Coomi Kapoor: Mr Sangma, is there not a conflict of interest between your being IT minister and running a BPO and call centre business?

Conrad Sangma: When the portfolios were distributed, the IT portfolio was offered to me. I requested the CM to give it to someone else and the CM did that. But after a month the minister in charge of IT got really confused and asked for a switch. Since we see IT as the key sector for our growth, I took on the responsibility. I hope that I don’t allow the conflict of interest to come in the way and I am opening up the industry as much as possible to people from outside the region too.

•Dheeraj Nayyar: You all hold charge of economic ministries and there is a view that the next generation of economic reforms has to come from the states. How seriously do you take your roles in terms of economic reforms? Also what is your view on agriculture being exempt from taxation and being given huge subsidies when farmers in Haryana and Punjab are quite rich and do not need those subsidies?

Randeep Surjewala: In Haryana, the land holding size of nearly 62 per cent of the farmers is below four acres, and about 10 acres is the minimum economically sustainable module for farming. Below that, with every acre, the economic costs of productivity go up. So our farmers have suffered. I am against taxation on agriculture. As far as economic reforms and capital investments in the social sectors in Haryana are concerned, we have increased spending. For instance, when I took over drinking water and sanitation, my budget was Rs 100 crore; now it is Rs 632 crore. As for infrastructure, if figures mean anything, between 1966-2005 we built only 17 railway overbridges. We have been building 41 in the last three years. Rs 500 crore was the building-and-roads budget when we took over; now it is Rs 1,500 crore.

Manpreet Badal: As far as subsidies are concerned, I have actually staked my political future on free power. But somehow you have to balance these subsidies. In a state like Punjab we are giving direct subsidies from the budget to the tune of about Rs 4,500 crore. Punjab faces a peculiar problem where the farmer has probably the highest debt per farming household—something like Rs 2 lakh per household. In the last 30-40 years, food security had been paramount to India, on the lines of national security. And Punjab changed its entire agricultural economy to help out. We never had this scale of grain production before. People used to grow vegetables, oilseeds, etc. Villages had a self-contained economy. But to meet this national challenge Punjab changed its agriculture focus. In the last 10 years, Punjab has faced a huge food problem. Did you know that out of the 2.2 lakh tonnes of wheat that was procured, Punjab alone contributed 1.5 lakh tonnes? So taxing the farmer would not be in the national interest, especially in our states.

•Zeenat Nazir: Mr Badal, over the last few years we have seen a number of Deras spring up in Punjab and we have seen a lot of unrest with regard to them recently. What is the reason for this casteism?

Manpreet Badal: We feel that this is some kind of conspiracy to say that minority bashing is going on here. Sikhs must be protected from this kind of support to the Deras that the Government of India is inclined to give.

Randeep Surjewala: We have seen similar sects arise in other parts of the country. They arise, according to me, on account of spiritual and religious dissatisfaction amongst a class of people. When we mix politics and religion there are sections that always feel disaffected because they are not a part of mainstream politics. So while all such types of divisive Deras need to be curbed and condemned, we must also ensure that the role of the government is apolitical—to the tune of maintaining law and order and ensuring neutrality.

•Suman K. Jha: People say the Deras in Punjab are an assertion of the lower castes in the fold of Sikhism. But Sikhism denies anything based on caste. So caste is not an important factor either in politics or religion.

Randeep Surjewala: The largest Dalit party in India today is a result of this suppressive system prevalent in Punjab. Kanshi Ram was a Ramgariya Sikh. Dera Sacha Sauda consists largely of Dalit Sikhs who are probably not allowed the same kind of access to the mainstream in Punjab.

Manpreet Badal: I don’t agree. This Dera following cuts across every community. I am not denying that there may be Dalit Sikhs in it, but they have never been denied access to gurudwaras or opportunities. The topmost leaders from our party are from the Dalit section, thanks to reservation. Punjab has not denied Dalit Sikhs a role in politics or society. This is all media hype.

•Sandeep: Punjab and Haryana have been doing well economically but the sex ratio in these states is one of the worst. Why is it so? Also, on ecology, Haryana has hardly any forest cover and Punjab is facing an acute water shortage for agricultural purposes. Thirdly, gotra honour killings continue in Haryana and no politician raises a voice against them.

Randeep Surjewala: The diminishing gender ratio is part of the mindset of both the states. And it would require more than administrative or political initiative to change it. In Haryana we have tried to take some steps—a pension scheme if you only have daughters, for example. If you have only daughters we will give you Rs 5,000 or fixed deposits for five years and by the time she is 18 she does not have bother about her nuptials. We also pay for a girl’s education up to college. What we need is social awareness.

On the question of ecology, Haryana and Punjab are the food baskets of the country. We grow most of the food grain for the country. When you do that, forest cover suffers. We have launched a fresh programme to plant a million saplings every three months. Also, I think the social sector has a larger role to play.

As for the gotra or biradri killings, these are social customs we have been trying to break for years. In each honour killing case that took place in Haryana, we have taken action. We have arrested and prosecuted those involved and paid a political price for it. I am sure these barriers will break but the government alone would not be able to break them. As development happens, the tribal nature of the state fades. As more people interact with the world, things will change.

•Shravan Sen: Mr Sangma, the UCIL has given a green signal to uranium mining in Khasi. The UDP said it was against uranium mining. What is your stand?

Conrad Sangma: Meghalaya has the country’s largest deposits of uranium. Almost 18 per cent of the country’s uranium is in Meghalaya. So without its participation, this entire nuclear policy of India’s would face hurdles. However, we are facing opposition from locals.

One of our deputy chief ministers from that region is against it. He is 85 years old and it is almost impossible to explain to him what it means. Personally I would allow the mining to take place. Investment with UCIL will be huge, almost to the tune of Rs 3,000 crore, and they will invest in infrastructure. But as we run a coalition government we are bound by certain compulsions. We are working on it and I think we will see a positive decision soon.

Transcribed by Debesh Banerjee