‘Youth don’t need his certificate’: Priyanka Gandhi reacts to RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat’s Gen Z remarks
NEW DELHI,AUG 7 : Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Friday hit back at RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat’s remarks supporting Gen Z, saying young protesters do not need a certificate from him.
Bhagwat, while addressing a gathering in Mumbai on Thursday, had backed the concerns raised by Gen Z and said their grievances were genuine. He also said protests by young people did not make them “anti-national” and described demonstrations as a legitimate form of dialogue in a democracy.
Responding to questions on Bhagwat’s comments, Priyanka Gandhi told reporters at the Parliament House complex, “They don’t need a certificate from Mohan Bhagwat ji.”
She also accused Union Home Minister Amit Shah of being “afraid” and questioned his absence from both Houses of Parliament.
“He should come, give a statement, what is the issue with that. Something wrong happened, so take responsibility,” she said, referring to the alleged police excesses against students during a July 20 protest over the paper leak issue.
Bhagwat, speaking at the 15th anniversary event of the India’s International Movement to Unite Nations (IIMUN) in Mumbai, said concerns over India’s education system were legitimate and called for greater focus on the sector, including raising spending on education to 6 per cent of GDP.
“Protest is also a way of dialogue. In a democracy, protest is a way of building consensus. Different views come together and a consensus evolves after discussion,” he said while addressing around 2,000 members of Gen Z and Gen Alpha.
“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,” the RSS chief said.
He added that if people’s concerns were not addressed through dialogue for various reasons, they could turn towards agitation, but the objective should be to build consensus rather than create divisions.
“The Gen Z grievances are genuine and I believe in their honesty,” Bhagwat said.
Bhagwat’s interaction is being viewed as one of the RSS’ major outreach efforts towards Gen Z (born roughly between 1997 and 2012) and Gen Alpha (born between 2013 and 2025), following the Cockroach Janta Party’s (CJP) protests over the NEET paper leak, which led to Dharmendra Pradhan resigning as Union education minister.
The BJP government’s handling of the protests, which turned violent during the CJP’s July 20 march to Parliament in New Delhi, has faced criticism from various quarters.
Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra during the Monsoon session of Parliament, in New Delhi, Tuesday, July 21, 2026.
-PTI
