Oscar exhorts youth power to position India on top

Curtains drawn on three-day Yuvajanotsava in city

Rajya Sabha member Oscar Fernandes, on Sunday, advised the young denizens to strive to take the country to numero uno position in the world.

Addressing a gathering at the valedictory of ‘Yuvajanotsava 2014’, organised by Karnataka Regional Catholic Bishops Commission, at St Philomena’s College, in the city, Fernandes said: “The youth are not just duty bound to contribute to the country’s progress, but also the natural choice for being the formidable force with a huge presence”.

“Apropos the remarks of US President Barack Obama, who sensed a potential threat in the Indian youth for having emerged as the front-runners in the highly competitive world,” Fernandes said “the Indian youth should take the poor towards progress thus making an effort in the development of the society”.

He gave a clarion call to the community to ensure education of every child in the State in the next five years. Besides, the youth should help every beneficiary reap the benefits of ‘Anna Bhagya’ scheme of the State government.

Archbishop of Bangalore Dr Bernard Moras appealed to the youth to take up government jobs and politics to cleanse the society that is neck deep in corruption.

Advice

Advising the youth, especially those belonging to Christian community, Moras said, “The community youngsters should crack civil service exams like Indian Police Service (IPS) and Indian Administrative Service (IAS). There is a need for capable officers and better leaders in the field of politics”.

Moras said, if the youth fail to aspire big, it would be difficult to eradicate corruption that has pervaded in the society.

Welcoming the recent decision of the State government to reject the recommendations of Justice Somashekar Commission that was constituted by the previous BJP-led State government to probe into the attacks on churches in 2008, Moras said: “The community has thanked both Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Home Minister K J George”.

Moras said, the government has dropped the cases booked against a total of 70 innocent Christian youth involved in the incident, according to the report.

“The community leaders had demanded the then government to reject the interim report of the Commission in 2010 that had blamed government officials and fundamentalists for the church attacks. In the final report, attempts of religious conversion had been cited as reason behind the attacks,” he pointed out.

Earlier, a rally was taken out from St Philomena’s Church to the college, with youth in large numbers, highlighting the significance of peace and harmony in the society.