‘You are India's past’: Rahul Gandhi attacks PM Modi, Amit Shah over Gen Z protests, FIRs

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah of trying to "threaten Gen Z into silence," alleging that the government first used force against student protesters and is now filing FIRs against them and taking down their social media accounts.

"PM Modi and Amit Shah, you cannot threaten Gen Z into silence. First you broke their bones. Now you are filing FIRs and taking down their accounts," the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha said in a post on X.

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"You are India's past. Be careful about how you treat India's future," the former Congress president added.

The remarks came a day after PM Modi said comprehensive reforms were needed in the education system, both at the Centre and in the states, to tackle the problem of paper leaks, warning that there would be "no mercy" for gangs "playing with the future of children."

In a video message on Instagram on Thursday evening, shortly after Parliament passed a Bill amending the anti-paper leak law, Modi said examination leaks had become a major challenge for students as well as for the Centre and several states.

"The Centre and many states have been facing the paper leak problem for several years. The menace has threatened the future of children appearing in various examinations," the prime minister said, adding that this had made it necessary to bring comprehensive changes to the education system.

Referring to the Bill, Modi said a strong law was now in place to address the issue, as promised earlier. "We will not spare the paper leak gangs, paper leak mafia and those playing with the future of children," he said.

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He also said a task force has been constituted and fast-track courts are being set up, and that suggestions are being taken from states to strengthen the examination process and prevent irregularities.

Parliament on Thursday passed The Public Examination (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, 2026, which amends the 2024 anti-paper leak law by introducing stricter punishments for paper leaks. The Lok Sabha had cleared the Bill on Wednesday, while the Rajya Sabha passed it on Thursday through a voice vote amid a walkout by several opposition parties belonging to the INDIA bloc.

With PTI inputs