Jaipur: Amid rising anger among young people over unemployment, exams and what they call a broken education system, Rajasthan govt has opened a new channel with Gen Z: birthday greetings from the chief minister.“Heartiest congratulations to you on completing 18 years of your life,” Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma writes to youngsters as they turn 18, a greeting that quickly moves from celebration to civic duty.“I urge you to get your name registered on the electoral roll at the earliest. Your active and positive participation will strengthen Indian democracy,” his letter says.Launched in August, the initiative targets first-time voters at a politically significant milestone. An official familiar with the exercise said Department of Information and Public Relations is posting nearly 4,500 such letters every day from Jaipur.“The greetings are being prepared in advance using data received from the Chief Minister’s Office, with instructions to ensure delivery before the recipient’s 18th birthday,” an official said on condition of anonymity.The outreach comes as BJP and the state govt attempt to rebuild their connect with young voters, many of whom have grown increasingly vocal over recruitment delays, paper leaks, exam irregularities and demands for education reform.A BJP office-bearer said the choice of medium was deliberate. “Instead of a phone call or social media message, the Chief Minister’s greeting is being sent as a hard copy to the youngster’s home. The initiative will also be adopted by other BJP leaders to reach out to youth in their constituencies,” the leader said.The letter frames 18 as the beginning of rights, responsibilities and social participation. Sharma also invokes Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s emphasis on youth in nation-building, saying their ideas, dreams, determination and effort can strengthen the campaign for a developed India and a developed Rajasthan.Each greeting is printed on the chief minister’s letterhead, carries the national emblem and includes photographs of Sharma and Modi. It also contains the recipient’s name, father’s name, postal address, mobile number and an alternative mobile number.Reacting to the development, LoP Tikaram Jully on Wednesday accused the BJP government of using the personal data of young voters for political outreach, alleging that birthday greetings based on their dates of birth amounted to an intrusion into their privacy.Jully said the Gen-Z protests at Jantar Mantar had put the BJP government under pressure and that it was now trying to reach out to young people by using their personal information.“Using the personal data of voters to woo them is a direct intrusion into their privacy. This is only the beginning. The BJP will not hesitate to use such private data for political purposes in the future,” Jully said.He questioned how the government could use sensitive information such as a citizen’s date of birth without their permission and demanded that it explain the legal basis for obtaining and using such data.
