Film stars and sportspersons can be sources of entertainment but never ideals like Chandrashekhar Azad and Shaheed Bhagat Singh for the country's youth, says BJP President Rajnath Singh.
Addressing the national executive meeting of the party's youth wing, Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM), Singh also sought to project homegrown software giant Infosys and Israel as "role models" for party activists.
"Earlier even students of primary classes knew about freedom fighters like Bhagat Singh, Khudiram Bose and Bagha Jatin but today they can only recall the names of film stars and cricketers like Ganguly and Dravid," he said.
"Film stars and players can be sources of entertainment but never ideals. It is people like Chandrashekhar Azad and Bhagat Singh who should be the ideals," the party chief said.
He said while the youth were interested in film heroines, they should not forget the people who fought for the nation's self-respect.
Recalling an article in a British daily which drew parallels between terrorist outfit Al-Qaeda and IT giant Infosys, he said that while both were run by individuals, had global operations and required intelligence but "the difference lies in motivation. One is engaged in terrorist activities, the other in constructive activities. We too need to motivate the people in the right direction".
He said the emergence of Israel as one of the powerful nations was due to "cultural reasons" and the youth activists should focus on integral humanism and cultural nationalism.
{{/usCountry}}He said the emergence of Israel as one of the powerful nations was due to "cultural reasons" and the youth activists should focus on integral humanism and cultural nationalism.
{{/usCountry}}Singh said while ambition was justified, "it should not cross the limits".