‘I Will Trust Gen Z Blindly’: Mohan Bhagwat’s New Strategic Move to Influence Youth After Success of CJP Protest

Mumbai: After the youth movement against the NEET exam irregularities succeeded despite strong opposition from the central government, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat has come out in support of the student protests against NEET irregularities, calling the agitation sincere and the grievances of Gen Z legitimate. His statement came after the BJP-RSS's attempt to suppress the protests — which drew tens of thousands to Jantar Mantar — by deploying goons and using pellets ended in failure. With young people across the country turning against the RSS, the organisation appears to have made a tactical shift by publicly backing the protesters. Speaking at the inauguration of the IIMUN Annual Championship Conference at the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre in Mumbai, Bhagwat said he trusts Gen Z wholeheartedly. He said democracy means reaching consensus through dialogue and debate, and that India's education system has much room for improvement. "The complaints are legitimate, which is why dialogue matters. Previous generations did not question authority — but Gen Z and Gen Alpha do, and they want rational answers. I will never say Gen Z should not protest. Democracy must make room for that," he said. He also said young people raising their voices is not to oppose things but to improve them, and called on society to make a serious effort to improve the state of education, stressing it is not a commodity but something everyone is entitled to. On the pellet attacks, Bhagwat added that he had not been fully aware of what had happened.