Congress: Gen Z rejects BJP after Jantar Mantar protest police excesses
Synopsis
Congress has weaponised Gen Z's anger at the Jantar Mantar student protest into a pointed political attack — with Pawan Khera declaring that young India has 'deleted PM Modi's friend request' and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra telling Parliament that the PM needs to change 'the angle of heart, not the angle of a phone camera.' The salvo landed on the very day Parliament debated the exam paper-leak bill that partly triggered the protests.
Key Takeaways
Congress MP Pawan Khera on 28 July accused the BJP of alienating Gen Z through police excesses at the Jantar Mantar student protest in New Delhi .
Khera alleged BJP MP Kangana Ranaut targeted women protesters and Kerala activist T.G.
Mohandas backed use of force against students.
Congress claimed pellet guns and AK-47s were used against protesting students — a charge the party linked to the BJP's 'regressive mentality'.
Priyanka Gandhi Vadra , Congress MP from Wayanad , echoed the attack in the Lok Sabha during debate on the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, 2026 .
Khera framed Gen Z as a generation shaped by the global recession, the pandemic, and repeated exam paper-leak scandals.
The Indian National Congress on Tuesday, 28 July charged that Gen Z students who participated in the recent protest at Jantar Mantar, New Delhi, have turned against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) following what the opposition described as police excesses against demonstrators — and have, in the party's words, 'swiped left' on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's outreach to young voters.
What Congress Said
Pawan Khera, Congress MP and Chairman of the All India Congress Committee (AICC) Media and Publicity Department, said the young generation has categorically rejected the mindset of BJP leaders who endorsed the use of force against student protesters and labelled them 'ill-mannered'. Khera argued that BJP leaders were unable to accept the fact that women and girl protesters had publicly questioned the country's top leadership.
In an apparent reference to Prime Minister Modi's video message directed at Gen Z during the student agitation, Khera said: 'Dear Prime Minister, this generation has swiped left and rejected, deleted your friend request.' He added that BJP leaders, if unable to support or empathise with Gen Z, should at the very least refrain from making remarks that alienate them further.
Allegations Against BJP Leaders
Khera alleged that Kerala activist T.G. Mohandas had publicly backed the use of force against protesters, while BJP MP Kangana Ranaut had targeted women and girl participants by questioning their presence at the demonstrations. He further stated that the BJP's 'regressive mentality' was reflected in reports of pellet guns and AK-47s being deployed against protesting students — a claim that critics of the government have amplified in recent days.
Priyanka Gandhi Joins the Attack
The Congress broadside came on the same day Parliament took up debate on the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, 2026 in the Lok Sabha. Congress MP from Wayanad, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, also invoked Modi's video message during the debate, saying the Prime Minister needed to change 'the angle of heart, not the angle of a phone camera' to genuinely connect with Gen Z. She criticised the reported use of pellet guns and AK-47s at the protest site, asserting: 'You can remove protesters from the road but cannot ignore the questions being raised by them.'
The Gen Z Backdrop
Khera contextualised the youth anger by noting that Gen Z is 'the generation born in the global recession, that fought the pandemic and is now staring at a bleak future due to frequent paper leaks' — a reference to a series of examination paper-leak controversies that have roiled competitive exam aspirants across India. This comes amid growing political attention on youth unemployment and exam integrity, issues that have fuelled multiple student-led protests in recent months.
What Comes Next
The Public Examinations Amendment Bill, 2026 — directly linked to the paper-leak controversy that partly sparked the Jantar Mantar protest — is now before the Lok Sabha, making the political stakes of the Gen Z narrative even sharper. Whether the BJP responds to Congress's framing before the bill's passage will be closely watched by both youth groups and opposition strategists.
Point of View
It is trying to own the Gen Z political identity ahead of the next electoral cycle. The 'swiped left' metaphor is deliberate: it speaks the language of the demographic it is courting. But the party's credibility on youth issues will be tested by whether it can move beyond rhetoric to policy alternatives on paper leaks and youth unemployment. The BJP, for its part, faces a genuine optics problem: a Prime Minister who released a social media video for Gen Z while the same cohort was being dispersed at Jantar Mantar is a contradiction that no amount of messaging can easily paper over. The real question is whether Gen Z's anger translates into organised political energy — or dissipates, as youth protest movements in India often have.
NationPress
28 Jul 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is Congress saying Gen Z is upset with the BJP?
Congress claims Gen Z is angry over police excesses during the student protest at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi, including the alleged use of pellet guns and AK-47s against demonstrators. The party also points to statements by BJP leaders who reportedly supported the use of force and criticised women protesters' participation.
What did Pawan Khera say about PM Modi and Gen Z?
Congress MP Pawan Khera said Gen Z has 'swiped left and rejected, deleted your friend request' — a reference to PM Modi's video message directed at young people during the student protest. Khera argued that the BJP's response to the protests showed a 'regressive mentality' that has alienated youth voters.
What did Priyanka Gandhi Vadra say in Parliament?
Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, speaking during the Lok Sabha debate on the Public Examinations Amendment Bill 2026, said PM Modi needed to change 'the angle of heart, not the angle of a phone camera' to genuinely connect with Gen Z. She also criticised the reported use of pellet guns and AK-47s at the protest site.
What is the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, 2026?
It is a legislative measure taken up in the Lok Sabha on 28 July 2026 aimed at curbing cheating and paper leaks in public examinations. The bill is directly linked to the paper-leak controversies that Congress says have left Gen Z 'staring at a bleak future.'
Who are T.G. Mohandas and Kangana Ranaut in this context?
Pawan Khera alleged that Kerala activist T.G. Mohandas publicly supported the use of force against student protesters, while BJP MP Kangana Ranaut questioned women and girls' participation in the demonstrations. Congress cited both as examples of the BJP's broader attitude toward the youth protest movement.
