Union Minister of State, Ministry of Rural Development, Agatha Sangma, an alumnus of ILS Law College, Pune, termed the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) viewpoint opposing students from other states coming to Maharashtra for education as narrow-minded.

She said this while talking to the media after her interaction with the students of Foundation for Liberal And Management Education (FLAME) where she delivered a lecture on ‘Role of Youth in Politics’ on Friday.

Sangma said Pune being an education hub, students from other states had respect for the city. “I have also studied in this city and owe a lot to it. We should not mix issues of politics with education. Moreover, every citizen of the country has right to get education anywhere in the country. We cannot restrict them,” she said.

She said a developed state like Maharashtra should adopt an open arm policy in receiving such students. “Maharashtra is a developed state and students from other states should have access to the excellent facilities here,” she said.

When asked about children of political leaders getting into politics, she said, “One cannot deny dynasty politics. You get a natural advantage to get into politics in such cases. For the first time in the by-elections in Tura I did get the advantage of my father’s image. However, next time I had to prove my mettle while contesting from the same constituency. You cannot always survive on being a political heir.”

On her role as an environmentalist, she remarked in a lighter vein that efforts to reduce pollution should be made in every field, including politics. “Young politicians like us are like fresh air in the system and we can reduce the pollution,” she said.

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