New Delhi: Seeking to defend the Modi government’s action on student protests, Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju has drawn a parallel with the situation that led to former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi imposing the Emergency.
He shared an archival interview clip of Indira Gandhi in which she justified the Emergency citing internal upheaval, foreign interference and the Opposition’s plan to picket the Prime Minister’s House and Parliament. Interestingly, BJP leaders have been citing similar factors to justify the police action against young protesters during their march to Parliament on 20 July.
Rijiju said the video was intended for the younger generation to counter critics accusing the current government of acting dictatorially. “Our young generation must see this short interview clip of Smt. Indira Gandhi talking about Emergency and give befitting response to those who are raising the slogans of azadi and accusing this govt of being dictatorial,” the minister said while sharing Gandhi’s interview after the Emergency.
In the interview Indira Gandhi justifies the Emergency, suspending civil rights and jailing opposition leaders including Morarji Desai. She cites an imminent danger to India’s security both internally and from outside. Asked if she required the special powers on the basis of internal upheaval, Gandhi said, “No, the question was, had it been only internal, with no foreign interference, one could have dealt with it in a much easier way.”
When the interviewer questioned her about imprisoning Opposition leaders including Morarji Desai, Gandhi said: “No, these were the people who were destroying democracy… Because they felt they could not win an election, they said, we must take the battle to the streets. Mr Morarji Desai is on record in an interview having said, we are going to surround the Prime Minister’s house, we are going to surround Parliament, we will see that no business is done. The Prime Minister cannot come out, nobody can go in. Another member of the Opposition, now a minister, said that if we cannot win by the ballot, we shall win by the bullet.”
Our young generation must see this short interview clip of Smt. Indira Gandhi talking about emergency and give befitting response to those who are raising the slogans of azadi and accusing this govt of being dictatorial. https://t.co/O8hNivWQ7v pic.twitter.com/5y0osfHj2Q
— Kiren Rijiju (@KirenRijiju) August 5, 2026
Rijiju had shared this archival interview in response to his own remarks made in Parliament about the Modi government being “sensitive as well as responsive”. He also said, “We’ll always oppose dictatorship and Emergency!”
The BJP government has described the Emergency as one of the “darkest chapters” in India’s democratic history.
Reacting to Rijiju’s sharing of the video, Congress leader and MP Nasir Hussain said the BJP conveniently cites and misrepresents facts.
“The situation then and the situation now are completely different (now it’s about the students and it’s a completely different time). It was anarchic during that time. We are asking for the Home Minister to speak on the violence against the students, what is the harm in speaking? They are running away from responsibility by comparing themselves to Indira Gandhi,” he told ThePrint.
Rajya Sabha Congress MP Christopher Tilak said: “More than what is being said, Indira-ji is sitting for an interview and she’s facing all critical questions. She was bold enough to face the media at that time. Mr Modi should come forward and speak to Parliament. She was facing so many questions. That is a real leader… PM and Home Minister should have the guts to address the nation, why are they absconding?”
In the past week, the government has gone on an offensive against students who had protested against the paper leak at Jantar Mantar seeking to distinguish between youngsters who were part of the Jantar Mantar protest and making reels and those who are aspiring to study and get jobs.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma shared a post on X sharing details of a state government scheme called ‘Nijut Babu’, a welfare scheme launched to provide monthly financial stipends to regular male undergraduate and postgraduate students from economically vulnerable families. In the post, he draws a contrast between youngsters “elsewhere” who are busy making reels and those in Assam getting the stipend.
At the same time, the party has also started reaching out to Gen Z across the country and is aiming to connect with them through specific outreach programmes.
In Rajasthan for instance, following the protests at Jantar Mantar and the resignation of Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, the BJP has launched an initiative to connect the youth with the country’s culture.
According to sources, the party is planning to use the term ‘Yuva Shakti’ (youth power) instead of ‘Gen Z’.
“The party organisation believes that ‘Yuva Shakti’ is a more appropriate term for the youth, aligning better with Indian culture and the party’s ideology. Instructions have been issued to avoid using the term GenZ,” said a senior BJP functionary.
The issue, a party functionary said, came up during a meeting of leaders from the Jaipur division held at the BJP state office Tuesday with General Secretary (Organisation) Ajaey Kumar pointing out that party leaders and office bearers must not use the term ‘Gen-Z’ and urged them to use the more “culturally appropriate” term ‘Yuva Shakti’.
Earlier, the BJP had come out with a gym reel which featured actors representing Gen Z while discrediting the protest.
Similarly, a post by Chhattisgarh BJP which contrasted a Mumbai-based professional dancer’s protest clip with a national award-winning judoka (Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar winner Yogita Mandavito) had created a huge political controversy. The post was titled ‘Which Gen Z mindset will you choose?’.
कौन सी सोच वाले Gen Z चुनेंगे आप? pic.twitter.com/AXi8zHyrO8
— BJP Chhattisgarh (@BJP4CGState) July 29, 2026
Urwashi Palandurkar had first posted the protest dance video during the NEET protest and it soon went viral garnering more than 24 million views.
Not only this, former Lok Sabha MP and BJP leader Ramesh Bidhuri had also triggered a controversy after he claimed “puncture banane wale aur tala banane wale” (those who fix tyre punctures and locksmiths) outnumbered students at the protest spearheaded by Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) against paper leaks.
Ironically Bidhuri made the remark at a ‘Gen Z Sammelan’ organised by the BJP in Delhi.
(Edited by Viny Mishra)