New Delhi
Taking a dig at ‘political families’ in the country, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said ‘dynasty politics’ is a challenge before India and it has to be ‘uprooted’ by the youth of the nation.

Speaking at the valedictory function of the second National Youth Parliament Festival on January 12 via video conferencing, the Prime Minister said the days of those who used to fight elections on the basis of their surname are numbered.

“There are some changes left and these changes have to be brought in by the youth of the country. Dynasty politics is such a challenge before the country and it has to be uprooted. Now the days of those who won elections with the help of surname are over. But this disease of dynasty is not completely obliterated,” said the Prime Minister.

He said the political dynasty only promotes the philosophy of ‘me and my family’, instead of ‘nation first’ philosophy, and called it a major reason behind the political and social corruption in India.

Slamming the ‘politics of family’ and ‘family politics’ in India, PM Modi said, “There are still people, whose ideas, whose ethos, whose goal, everything is to save their family’s politics and their family in politics. This political dynasty promotes inefficiency in democracy along with dictatorship.”

Encouraging youth to join politics, Prime Minister said earlier the word ‘politics’ had become synonymous with quarrel, trouble, plunder and corruption, but now honesty and performance have become mandatory conditions for politics in India.

“Earlier, there was a perception in families that if young people turned to politics, he is going astray. It was because politics had become synonymous with quarrel, trouble, plunder and corruption! People used to say that everything can change but politics cannot change,” he said.

“But today honest people are also getting a chance in politics. Honesty and performance are becoming a mandatory condition of politics today. The corruption of those who had a (political family) legacy has become a burden on them today. Despite their innumerable efforts they are not been able to get a firm footing again,” PM Modi added.