Several opposition leaders on Saturday, 3 August 2024, hit back at Prime Minister Narendra Modi after he posted a video message forgiving students who had abused him during the nationwide agitation over exam paper leaks — calling the gesture the Centre's 'sheer panic' and demanding that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Union government instead apologise to the youth for alleged police excesses, and to families whose children died by suicide in the aftermath of the controversy.

What Modi Said

In a video posted on his official Instagram account on Friday, Prime Minister Modi said he wished to forgive all those young people who had abused not only him but also his late mother. The message came amid sustained protests over the alleged NEET paper leak of 3 May, which triggered demonstrations across the country and drew sharp criticism of the Centre's handling of competitive examinations.

Opposition Reaction

Congress leader Sandeep Dikshit said he condemned abusive language, including that used by politicians, but added that BJP leaders had 'often abused Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and other Congress leaders' without the Prime Minister appearing troubled. 'In politics if you put a seal on low level (of language), that becomes a standard,' Dikshit said. He also alleged that such language 'was started by Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Chief Arvind Kejriwal in 2011 and then carried on by people related to the BJP and RSS.'

Samajwadi Party (SP) MP Rajeev Rai noted that Prime Minister Modi had not been seen attending Parliament proceedings despite the Monsoon Session being underway, yet 'he does put up social media videos at night.' Rai said Modi could 'come to the Parliament and apologise to the students, to those young girls for whom he had said Beti Bachao Beti Padhao,' adding that the opposition would support such a move.

All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Saugata Roy argued that Modi's statement carried limited weight since Union Home Minister Amit Shah had not yet apologised for the alleged police action against student protesters.

NEET Paper Leak and Student Suicides

SP spokesperson Fakhrul Hasan Chand raised the issue of students who had died by suicide in the wake of the 3 May NEET paper leak, questioning why the government had not apologised to their bereaved families. 'Exam papers kept getting leaked during the regime of the BJP-led government due to which the youth had to hit the streets,' he said. Chand acknowledged that Modi had forgiven the students and that some had apologised, but stressed: 'the question remains that why at all did the youth have to come out on the streets?'

CPI-M's Critique

Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Hannan Mollah accused the Prime Minister of prolonged silence during the protests. 'Students have been protesting for so long but unfortunately he was silent then...now he has become generous and is talking to the children,' Mollah said. 'This is not the way, if you keep silence for long and if you become generous when things go out of hand, it comes across as acting and not real work.'

What Comes Next

With the Monsoon Session of Parliament still underway, opposition parties are likely to press the government on both the paper leak investigations and the conduct of law enforcement during the protests. The political pressure on the Centre is unlikely to ease until a credible accountability framework is put in place for the examination system.