Satya Pal Singh, Union Minister of State for Human Resources Development, said on Thursday that Maoist ideology could be countered only by a positive ideology and involvement of local people in development works in Maoist-affected areas.
Speaking to presspersons after delivering the 26th Leadership Lecture organised by T.A. Pai Management Institute (TAPMI) here, Mr. Singh said that Maoist ideology was based on the premise that power came from the barrel of the gun. This was illegal and unconstitutional. Maoists are brain washing the youth, he said.
Only the leadership of Maoist organisations was committed to the ideology and not the cadre. Nearly 90% of the cadre was simply romancing with the guns. The only answer to this was development of the affected regions with the involvement of and providing dignity to local people and a positive ideology, he said.
To a question, Mr. Singh said the Union government was preparing the New Education Policy and it would focus on accessibility, affordability, quality and removal of regional discrimination.
To another query, Mr. Singh said that the Union government was closely coordinating with the governments of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand on cleaning River Ganga. Yogi Adityanath, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, had assured to stop the drains from flowing into the river before the Kumbh Mela in January 2019, he said.
Earlier delivering the lecture and participating in an interaction with students, Mr. Singh said it was necessary to bring a change in the education system of the country. Besides educational qualifications, it was essential to focus on the competence of individuals. Education should not just focus on career progression but also on making people happy, he said.
He said that management institutions should teach “management of life” to their students. The qualities required to attain success in life were found in 7 ‘C’s namely cosmic consciousness, confidence, commitment, communication, character, connectivity and collective responsibility, Mr. Singh said.
