I want to be in the next Olympic Games: Naveen Jindal
By: Amit Kumar
Date:
2009-03-09
Delhi:
Steel tycoon, Member of Parliament and a shooting champion 39-year-old Naveen Jindal is a man of many virtues and he dons each cap with equal passion. In the run-up to the General Election while Jindal is concerned about roping in the young voter, he also has an eye on the next Olympic Games. He is equally passionate about his concern for the Tricolour.
Here's the young Congress leader unplugged.
Excerpts:
We are the world: Congress MP Naveen Jindal wants the youth to actively participate in polls file photo
You were only 34 when you became a Member of Parliament in the 14th Lok Sabha. As a young MP, do you feel the Indian youth needs to be involved more actively in the voting process? Today, the biggest group of people in our country is the youth. They must involve themselves more in the electoral process and must caste their vote. But they should study a candidate and political party before voting. And the Congress is a good choice for them. The Congress has given opportunities to many young leaders. And today, the youth of the country is looking towards Rahul Gandhi because he is young, charismatic and a visionary. He too wants to encourage youngsters. So if young India supports the Congress, it will be good for the country and for their future too.
But many young professionals who are on the move face practical problems in casting their votes. MiD DAY had in one of its opinion articles raised the issue of portable voting. You are right. This is an issue especially for those people who are travelling, who may have been transferred to other cities. I have written to the Election Commission and to the Parliament about this problem. In a democracy if we do not let somebody exercise his or her right to vote because of circumstances, it is a very serious lapse. A system, may be like postal ballot, has to be evolved to let everyone vote. The voting process should be modified to let a person who is travelling on the polling date vote a day before.
Is it possible to establish the system before this General Election? I am pushing for it. But I don't know whether it will be implemented this year. Because it takes a long time to do anything in our country. I am sure others will find a fault with the system. But I think this is very important.
Blogging has become a popular polling tool to influence the youth. What's your opinion? It is a good tool. I have often considered having my own blog but I haven't got down to doing it yet. But I want to blog.
Will it be possible before the election? Let's see how much time it takes me to create the blog. I will try and do it before the election.
You are also very passionate about your flag foundation. I organise programmes and events to encourage the usage of the National Flag. My objective is that more and more people should display the greatest symbol of the country, draw inspiration from it and work for the nation. Presently, we are setting up monumental flag posts so that they can inspire everyone to work for the nation. Everyone should realise that under this flag, religion, region and political affiliations don't matter. We are all equal.
Do you support wearing the Tricolour? The law in our country allows people to wear it above the waist. We can wear it on a T-shirt, jacket or cap. And that's quite reasonable. We should not mutilate or burn it. That's a punishable offence.
Some countries allow their national flags to be worn as thongs... I know some countries do so but we are a conservative nation and I feel what's allowed in the act is enough.
You are also a sportsman. Do you think you should have made a career in sports? I would have loved to. It is something I enjoy doing. But everyone is cut out for his or her work. I feel I can contribute more towards my country by being in business and in politics. I pursue sports like shooting and polo as hobbies. I am also a national record holder in skeet shooting and want to make it to the next Olympic Games. I am a part of the national team and am training in the camp.
What about flying? You flew the F 18 recently. It would be wrong to say that I was flying it. I was flown in an F 18. I tried flying it for 5-10 minutes and even do a little manoeuvering but only as a co-pilot. But it was a very good experience being flown in a fighter jet at an unimaginable speed. The kind of manoeuvres the fighter pilots do like the 360-degree loop are fascinating.
Recently, MiD DAY carried an article about your company buying the Falcon 7X super jet. In a slow economy is making such a huge investment on a luxury jet justified? If somebody buys a car, only he or she can justify its use. If your work requires you to hop between international destinations and cover many countries without wasting time, then you need ultra-long-range jets. If I have a choice between taking an entire day to reach a work site and flying there within two hours, I will prefer the latter. For our senior executives, time is very valuable. Economically too, the jet works out cheaper then flying commercially.
What's your next big buy? The Falcon is not my big buy. It was a decision of the company. As far as I am concerned, I am just looking forward to the election, going out in the field and meeting people. If I run out of clothes or something, I can go shopping then.
Is there something about Naveen Jindal that the world does not know about? I am an open book and whatever I do is known to everyone.
