New Delhi, Aug 7 (PTI) The BJP on Friday backed RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat’s remarks on Gen Z, saying Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been consistently working to help youth fulfil their dreams, while opposition leaders claimed the RSS chief’s comments exposed contradictions between the Sangh and the ruling party.
The remarks came a day after Bhagwat came out strongly in support of Gen Z, saying their grievances are genuine and he believes in their honesty, insisting protests by young people do not make them “anti-national.” Participating in an event in Mumbai on Thursday, he noted that protest is a legitimate form of dialogue in a democracy and should be aimed at building consensus rather than creating divisions.
His comments came in the backdrop of a recent stir by a fledgling pressure group over exam paper leaks. Bhagwat said the concerns being raised over India’s education system are genuine and batted for increasing spending on the sector to 6 per cent of GDP.
Speaking to reporters in the Parliament House complex, BJP national general secretary Tarun Chugh said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been consistently working to help India’s youth fulfil their dreams.
“If there is one main engine of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s agenda of a developed India, it is the youth of India. And today’s youth, whom people call Gen Z, are the ones in whom the prime minister has the greatest faith, and he constantly works to take them forward,” he said.
BJP MP Kangana Ranaut said Gen Z is the country’s strength and welcomed Bhagwat’s remarks, saying young people are increasingly embracing India’s cultural identity.
“We are very happy that our young people are increasingly emerging as ambassadors of our culture and its identity.
“We have also had the opportunity to listen to Mohan Bhagwat ji, whom we hold in the highest regard, and benefit from his wisdom and experience. It is a matter of great happiness that the country’s youth are connecting with us and embracing our cultural identity,” she said.
BJP MP Shashank Mani Tripathi said Bhagwat’s speech and interview were “very responsible” and stressed the need to encourage the innovative spirit among young people while addressing concerns over the NEET paper leak.
“I believe his speech was very responsible, as was his interview. We need to encourage them and help that innovative spirit grow. Naturally, the NEET examination paper leak has raised some doubts and concerns in their minds, and we need to address and rectify those issues as well,” he said.
Backing Bhagwat’s assertion that the students’ protest was not anti-national, BJP MP Damodar Agarwal alleged that “anti-national” forces had exploited the movement to pursue their own agenda.
“His statement is absolutely correct. The students’ protest was certainly not anti-national. It was anti-national forces that took advantage of the students’ movement to pursue their own agenda, whether they were from the Congress, the Aam Aadmi Party, the Samajwadi Party, or any other group. As for the students, their movement was about their own demands,” he told reporters.
Opposition leaders criticised Bhagwat’s remarks, alleging that they exposed contradictions between the RSS and the BJP.
Azad Samaj Party president Chandrashekhar Azad said the language of the BJP is different from that of the RSS and claimed several BJP leaders have questioned the students’ protest.
“A couple of days ago, an RSS office-bearer was saying that they were not protesters, they were anti-national elements. Several BJP leaders had raised questions over the protesters. Mohan Bhagwat interacted with Gen Z… they must have been members of their social or political organisation. The truth is that youth is angry and the biggest reason is unemployment,” he said.
RJD MP Sanjay Yadav termed Bhagwat’s statement “laughable”, alleging that there has long been a gap between what the RSS says and what it does.
“Why did Mohan Bhagwat not speak out earlier? Why did he not comment on the baton charge against students? Why did he not speak when students were fired upon with AK-47 rifles in Bihar? It was not aerial firing, but was ‘shoot-to-kill’. Did he issue any statement or express any concern? No,” he said.
Yadav questioned the capacity in which Bhagwat made the remarks and alleged that the RSS often retreats from its positions depending on public reaction.
“The character of the RSS is to throw a pebble into the water, observe how many ripples it creates, then take one step forward and a hundred steps back depending on the reaction. It also has a long history of apologising and retreating from its positions. We would like to ask Mohan Bhagwat in what capacity he is making these remarks. If he is speaking as the head of the BJP’s parent organisation, then there are contradictions within his own statements,” he added. PTI ADI ADI AMJ AMJ
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