07 August,2026 02:03 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat. Pic/PTI
Opposition parties Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) on Friday questioned the BJP over its response to recent youth protests, asking why several party leaders had criticised demonstrators when Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat said members of Generation Z should not be branded as anti-national.
The opposition also accused the BJP and the RSS of adopting "double standards" in their approach towards young protesters, citing differing public statements made by leaders of the Sangh Parivar.
The political reactions followed Bhagwat's address to around 2,000 members of Gen Z and Gen Alpha in Mumbai on Thursday, where he urged dialogue with young people instead of labelling them anti-national.
"If Gen Z members are agitating, they are not anti-national; they are our people. It is our next generation. You need a dialogue and rapport with them," Bhagwat said.
His remarks came in the backdrop of recent nationwide protests by students and young job aspirants over issues including examination paper leaks and employment.
NCP (SP) spokesperson Mahesh Tapase said Bhagwat's remarks stood in contrast to statements made by several BJP leaders during the recent protests.
According to Tapase, BJP leaders, including MPs Nishikant Dubey and Kangana Ranaut, had publicly questioned the intentions of protesting youths during demonstrations linked to the NEET controversy.
"This contradiction is impossible to ignore. The youth of India deserve to know which face represents the real ideology of the RSS?" he said.
Tapase further alleged, "It appears to be a carefully calibrated political strategy -- one voice attempts to soften the image of the establishment while another continues to intimidate, polarise and delegitimise dissent. The Indian youth cannot be misled by this 'double standard' approach."
He also said that if Bhagwat genuinely believes young people deserve dialogue and respect, he should publicly disapprove of BJP leaders who had questioned the patriotism of student protesters.
Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant said Bhagwat's comments on education should be matched by concrete action.
Referring to the RSS chief's reported support for increasing education spending to six per cent of the country's GDP, Sawant demanded changes in the higher education system.
"It is now expected that vice-chancellors, professors and other incompetent officials who were appointed in universities by the government at the behest of the RSS would be removed immediately. The RSS has played a major role in damaging the education sector," Sawant said in a statement.
NCP (SP) national spokesperson Clyde Crasto questioned the government's handling of the recent youth protests and alleged that the BJP was now attempting to align itself with the popularity of Gen Z.
"Where were they when there was a lathi charge on these peaceful protesters? Who ordered the lathi charge on the Gen Z is a question that the BJP-led government needs to answer," Crasto said.
Meanwhile, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray alleged that action against student protesters in New Delhi reflected internal differences within the BJP.
Claiming that the protests were driven by public anger, Thackeray said, "The agitation at Jantar Mantar is just the beginning. It was the result of the nationwide anger against the government."
During his visit to Nashik, Thackeray also criticised Maharashtra minister Chandrakant Patil, urging him to focus on the concerns of young people instead of making claims about identifying protesters through forensic methods. He further criticised the government over pothole-related deaths in Nashik.
