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Supporters of India’s Cockroach Janta Party celebrate after India’s Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan resigned following days of protests in New Delhi. (Reuters/File picture)
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he wanted to forgive students who hurled expletives at him during protests last month, saying that punishing them and forcing them to appear repeatedly in court would not help resolve the situation.
The biggest political crisis of Modi’s third term peaked in July after the leak of national exam papers forced a retest for 2mn students, fuelling anger over the lack of opportunities for young Indians.
Authorities filed cases against hundreds of demonstrators after some clashed with security forces and shouted abusive slogans at the prime minister.
Some protesters featured in widely circulated videos shouting insults at the prime minister have since faced online abuse from Modi supporters as well as police complaints, according to local media reports.
Police have also asked social media platforms, including Meta and X, to take down what they described as abusive and manipulated content targeting the premier.“The country and the world witnessed what happened at Jantar Mantar.
Some mischievous youngsters hurled vile abuses,” Modi, 75, said in a video posted on Instagram late Friday.“Words were used that do not belong to civilised society — directed not just at me, but even at my late mother… I want to forgive them.”Modi also said “mistakes made in youth” should be corrected through guidance rather than legal action, referring to the police cases.
The protests that began last month were initially sparked by anger over examination paper leaks.But they broadened into a wider expression of frustration over unemployment and governance, culminating in the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.Since the protests began, Modi has increasingly used Instagram — the platform on which the CJP built much of its support — to communicate directly with youngsters.“These are misled children. Showing them the right path is our duty. Punishing them, making them run around courts, or tormenting them in society will not change the situation,” Modi said in a video posted on social media late on Friday.“I want to forgive them.
I hope society also accepts this stance of mine.”Tensions erupted between protesters and security forces in several parts of the country during the demonstrations, including in New Delhi, where people attempting to march on parliament were met with tear gas and baton charges.
The self-named Cockroach Janta Party, which led the movement, said on Monday that “hundreds” of students had been arrested in various states, in violation of the government’s commitment to dropping police cases filed against protesters.
Indian youth protesters ended weeks of demonstrations after the education minister quit and the government accepted all demands, which included reforms in the exam system and dropping police cases.
The protests have also prompted the Modi government to introduce a bill in parliament to amend the legislation governing public examinations, proposing longer prison terms and higher fines for those involved in exam paper leaks.
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