Gen Ji vs Gen Z: When Parliament turns noisy

Parliament was meant to debate the issues that matter to India, but the Monsoon Session risks ending without meaningful business—even Question Hour. What began as a genuine student protest over NEET has been politically appropriated, with parties eyeing Gen Z votes in 2029 rather than addressing students’ concerns

It really looks weird that the monsoon session of Parliament is going to end without transacting any substantial business. This session will go down not merely as a washout, but as one in which Parliament could not even conduct Question Hour.

What started as a student agitation demanding reforms in the NEET examination, compensation for those who committed suicide, and the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan in the name of accountability has now turned into a battle for the Gen Z votes in 2029.

The opposition, led by Congress, believes that Gen Z has moved away from the BJP, and it is an opportunity to gain a new vote bank by the 2029 elections. Hence, the Gen ji in these parties might have advised them to put pressure on the government through rhetoric and street protests rather than discussing and debating inside Parliament.

Perhaps the opposition Gen ji feels that a street fight will attract the attention of youth. They have been demanding that Amit Shah come to the house and answer their questions. It is a fair demand, but what they refuse to explain or understand is that they need to initiate a debate or discussion.

The opposition seems to believe that the BJP has lost the Bihar by-election as Gen Z has moved away from the saffron party. Even if we presume that they are right, what is interesting is that Gen Z did not favour Congress or other opposition parties.

One thing the Gen ji should understand is that people’s perspectives have undergone significant change, and it appears the Gen ji who are not grounded are still looking through old glasses and advising the present leadership, who are either confused or harbour hatred towards Prime Minister Modi, following a series of electoral defeats in the last 14 years. It is time to change their narratives and strategies. They need to understand that accountability has to be a two-way concept, not shoot-and-scoot.

Taking advantage of the agitation launched by the Cockroach Janta Party, Congress should have taken demonstrative action against those involved in paper leaks in the states ruled by them. But they are silent about it. Rahul Gandhi, who started student outreach but could not sustain it, did not express solidarity with the students who have been on dharna for the past 15 days in Jharkhand. He did not even speak to them on the phone. It took 15 days for Rahul to react on his X handle. Barring oral support to the agitating Jharkhand students, the CJP did nothing to stand by the tribal students. When questioned, Congress spokespersons said they needed to be cautious since it was their government and the chief minister had reached out to the students. I fail to understand why Gen ji did not advise Rahul to go and reach out to the students, hold talks with the chief minister, and advise him on the measures that need to be taken. This would have generated confidence among youth in the Congress party.

Similarly, he should have reached the students in Kerala, held a meeting with them, then with the Chief Minister, and ensured that the Kerala government withdrew all cases against students and paid compensation to those injured in police attacks on students. He should have also visited Hyderabad, asked the chief minister, A Revanth Reddy, to hand over the education department to another minister, and announced the reforms he had suggested to Revanth Reddy. This certainly would have moved the youngsters towards Rahul.

Realising the political damage caused to the BJP, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has taken to Instagram to reach Gen Z and re-establish his connection with them. Even the RSS has become active and is reaching out to the youth, perhaps to regain lost ground.

Opposition parties should understand that neither the Cockroach Janta Party nor the Congress party can claim to be the sole representative of Gen Z. The agitation by CJP certainly succeeded in putting the NEET issue at the centre of the national debate, forcing the government to come under pressure, with Dharmendra Pradhan eventually resigning and the NEET Reforms Bill being passed, though opposition did not come up with much constructive suggestions.

The CJP is now under scrutiny, as they are alleged to have been propped up or supported by AAP. Though on record, both AAP and the top leaders of CJP have denied any links with AAP.

The fact is that they had worked for the social media of AAP and their channels and were still maintaining good contacts with AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal.

Another important aspect the Gen ji need to understand is that by getting stuck like a gramophone record of yesteryears on one issue, they could alienate other sections of the vote bank, like Christians and other minorities.

By not discussing the amendments to the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) Bill in Parliament, the opposition could be at a loss. It is losing a golden opportunity to show the mirror to the government if it thinks the amendments are a real threat to democracy. They are giving a chance to the BJP and its allies to allege that the opposition does not want to be held accountable.

The opposition has also been supporting the comments of a US lawmaker who said the FCRA could affect Indo-US ties. This is where the hypocrisy lies. The US, UK, Australia, and many other countries have such laws, but the US appears to be unduly concerned about the FCRA here.

They are spreading fake news that the law would have retrospective effect and that it would stop the flow of funds, despite Union Home Minister Amit Shah making it clear during a meeting with representatives of church bodies that it will not be applicable retrospectively. He also stated that it would apply uniformly to all organisations regardless of religion, community, or ideology.

The Centre has opened back channels and has been in talks with representatives of church bodies and other organisations. The government claims that despite strict FCRA rules, over 16,000 NGOs received Rs 22,000 crore in 2024-25. According to the government, barely 28% of NGOs and associations registered under FCRA are currently active, with licenses of about 72% either deemed cancelled or expired.

However, the opposition claims they will not discuss this bill or any other bills, such as the delimitation or women’s reservation bill. Gen ji wake up and allow the opposition to become more responsible and proactive.

(The author is former Chief Editor of The Hans India)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

V Ramu Sarma

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