Washington (PTI): Indian-American Vivek Ramaswamy on Sunday said many people are annoyed by his rise and believe that a 38-year-old is too young to become US President.

Following his impressive performance during the maiden Republican presidential primary debate, various opinion polls show that his popularity is on the rise. The latest opinion poll shows that he is 12 points up since his August performance. At the same time his criticism by his opponents has also grown up.

"Well, look, we have been taking intense criticism, Shannon, over the last several weeks since I performed well on that second debate. And this is part of the process, so I invite the open debate," Ramaswamy told Fox News in an interview.

"The reality is many people are annoyed by my rise and believe that a 38-year-old is too young to be US President. The fact of the matter is Thomas Jefferson was 33 years old when he wrote the US Declaration of Independence. He also invented the swivel chair while he was at it, by the way," he asserted.

Ramaswamy argued that there is a need to revive that spirit. "And I believe, it will take someone whose best days ahead are still yet ahead in life to see a country whose best days are still yet ahead of itself. And I do believe that the United States of America can see our best days still yet ahead. But we can't just be running from something".

"I don't actually criticize the radical Biden agenda that much because I think it's the wrong place to focus. Of course, there's a lot to criticize. But we have to offer a vision of our own, not just what are we running from? What are we running to, revive meritocracy, the pursuit of excellence, economic growth, free speech, open debate. These are basic values that most Americans still agree with," he said.

"That's why I'm confident that we have a chance to deliver a 1980-style, Ronald Reagan-style, moral mandate. That is how we'll unite this country. And I'm in this race because I think I am the single best positioned candidate to do it. And even though we've taken criticisms from basically nearly every other candidate that's been threatened by my rise, I'm not running against any of them. I am running for this country. That's the mission we're guided by," Ramaswamy said.

Ramaswamy has garnered attention after his maiden Republican presidential primary debate held on August 23.

The first poll that came out after the debate said that 28 per cent of the 504 respondents said that Ramaswamy performed the best.

He was followed by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis with 27 per cent, and former vice president Mike Pence (13 per cent). Indian-American Nikki Haley received seven per cent of the votes.

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Bhatkal: The Karnataka unit of the All India Ideal Teachers Association (AIITA) has welcomed the Karnataka government’s decision to strictly ban school children from dancing to obscene songs during educational and cultural programmes in government, aided, and private schools across the state.

AIITA Karnataka State President M. R. Manvi congratulated the government for taking what he termed an important step to preserve the sanctity of education.

“Such decisions to safeguard the dignity of school children and uphold the values of education are the need of the hour. This rule should not be limited to government schools alone but must be strictly implemented in all private educational institutions as well,” he said.

He further urged the government to address other concerns within school programmes.

“The government should not only prohibit obscene dances in the name of school anniversaries, but also ensure that plays and dialogues that incite religious hatred are avoided. Schools should be centres of harmony, not platforms for spreading hatred,” he added.

According to a recent circular issued by the Department of School Education and Literacy, obscene dances are adversely affecting the mental health and moral values of students.

In this regard, schools have been advised to use songs that promote nationalism, positive thinking, the greatness of Kannada culture, and value-based traditions instead of inappropriate content during programmes.
The circular also emphasises that students should be dressed in decent attire.

AIITA also backed the department’s warning that disciplinary action would be taken against head teachers if such guidelines are violated. The association has further demanded that district Deputy Directors of Public Instruction strictly monitor the implementation of these rules.