The Indian National Congress on Friday, 28 August stood firmly behind its Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor after he praised India's democratic resilience in the face of recent Gen Z protests, with the party claiming credit for building the country's democratic foundations — even as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) dismissed Tharoor's worldview, saying he 'stays among the communists in Kerala.'

What Tharoor Said

A day earlier, on Thursday, Tharoor had spoken at the NDTV World Anviksha Summit, offering a comparative analysis of how political systems across South Asia responded to youth-led agitations over the past decade. He observed that six major South Asian countries — Pakistan, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and India — had all witnessed significant protests by young populations in recent years. 'The difference among them is in the political systems in these countries and how the political establishment responded and dealt with them,' Tharoor noted. He concluded that the 'Indian system bent, didn't break.'

Congress Claims Credit for Democratic Institutions

Congress spokesperson Atul Londhe defended Tharoor's remarks, framing India's democratic durability as the party's legacy. 'I will proudly give the credit for this to Congress. If we have given something to the country in 70 years, that is a strong democracy and strong democratic institutions despite attempts being made to weaken these in the past 12 years, whether it is the RBI, judicial system, bureaucracy or use of ED, CBI etc.,' he said.

Londhe further argued that the student protests themselves were proof of a functioning democracy. 'Despite these efforts (of the ruling alliance), the students kept democracy alive. Only because of a strong democracy, students could react like this; otherwise, we have seen in other countries how people violently react after their trust in the system breaks,' he added.

BJP's Counter: Gen Z Belongs to Their Vision

BJP MP Dinesh Sharma offered a pointed rebuttal, questioning Tharoor's ideological moorings. 'Shashi Tharoor's thoughts are different; he stays among the communists in Kerala,' Sharma said. He then reframed the Gen Z narrative around the BJP's own record, describing young Indians as 'the dream of the BJP whose wholesome development has been the target since Prime Minister Narendra Modi first took oath as Prime Minister in 2014.'

Sharma cited government schemes — Startup India, Stand-Up India, Make in India, and Digital India — as the 'biggest platforms for the welfare of the youth.' He also drew a connection between Gen Z and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), describing young Indians as those who 'also represent the Bal Swayamsevak of the RSS and youth wing members of the BJP.'

The Broader Context: South Asia's Youth Uprising

Tharoor's remarks come amid a broader wave of youth-led political movements across South Asia, most notably in Bangladesh, where student protests recently culminated in a dramatic political transition. His framing positions India's institutional response as comparatively more resilient — a claim that Congress has now adopted as a political talking point, and one the BJP contests on different grounds. Notably, both parties are competing to claim ownership of India's youth, even as they disagree on what that youth stands for.