New Delhi: The Congress on Friday criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his video message in which he appealed to forgive the students involved in the Jantar Mantar protest.
The party said that while the country was asking the prime minister to apologise, he had instead “forgiven the country.”
On Friday, PM Modi said he and, according to him, his late mother were subjected to during the Jantar Mantar protest over the alleged NEET irregularities. However, he said taking such “misguided children” to court would not solve the issue and that he wanted to forgive them.
Sharing PM Modi’s video and post on X, Congress media and publicity department head Pawan Khera wrote in Hindi, “Listen to this. The country is asking him to apologise, yet he has forgiven the country.”
In another video message posted on Instagram late Friday night, PM Modi said he understood the anger in society but stressed that this was the time to support young people and guide them in the right direction.
“Not only was I subjected to abusive language at Jantar Mantar, but even my late mother was abused there. But abuses never solve anything; let’s guide the misguided,” Modi said.
Calling the students “misguided children,” Modi said punishing them or making them go through court proceedings would not solve the problem.
“I want to forgive them. People make mistakes, but this is a cultural shock that our daughters are using such abusive language. We must forgive our youth who were misguided; after all, they are our children. It’s our duty to show them the right path,” he said.
The student protest was led by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) at Jantar Mantar. It began on June 20 and ended on July 25 after 36 days, following the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and the Centre’s acceptance of the protesters’ demands.
The protest drew support from thousands of students across the country as well as several opposition parties.
The agitation reached its peak on July 20 when protesters marched towards Parliament. The march was met with police action, including a lathicharge and the use of tear gas. After three rounds of talks, the CJP and the Centre reached an agreement on July 25, with the government accepting the protesters’ demands, following which the agitation was called off.