Sanjay Gandhi's son Varun hits out at 'dynastic approaches' in politics

Expressing concern over "dynastic approaches" in various important areas, including politics, BJP MP Varun Gandhi said this was closing the doors of opportunity for the common man.He was addressing an event on 'The road to India's Future: Opportunities and Challenges', organised by the Federation of Karnataka Chambers of Commerce and Industries here yesterday.

"How do we open the doors to more people in politics? Everybody knows that politics has dynastic approaches. There are certain families in every state, district, and country that are prominent. It is unfortunate, but true," he said.The BJP MP lamented that no important sector was devoid of this phenomenon.

Gandhi said if one today looked at the film industry, sports fraternity, politics and industry, almost all doors were closed to the common man.

"If you are a talented young person growing up in a small town and you have immense talent and courage, ability what will you do? Sometimes it is just wasted. It saddens me," said Gandhi who hails from the Nehru family.He, however, admitted that he would not have grown politically if he had not come from a political dynasty.

Speaking about the poor pace of innovation in India, Gandhi said there was a lack of funding.

While China spends three per cent of its GDP on research and development, India's share is a meagre 0.6 per cent, he said.

Another reason for faltering in innovation was that 93 per cent of start-ups failed in India mainly because investors did not give sufficient time to let the ventures grow, the BJP leader claimed.Gandhi said the education system needs a reform where P.hd research should be linked to industry and innovation.

He also underlined the need to make education accessible to all.Gandhi also spoke about environmental hazards, citing the examples of landfill sites at Dera and Bandhwari village of Faridabad and Gurgaon, the two satellite towns of Delhi.The shutdown of the waste treatment plants in these towns had resulted in most people getting serious ailments, he claimed.