Change dil ka angle, not camera angle: Priyanka

Prime Minister Narendra Modi needs to change his “dil ka angle” instead of camera angles if he wants to win over the Gen Z, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi told Parliament Tuesday in a sharp barb over his Instagram outreach to student protesters last week.

Priyanka Gandhi also launched a stinging attack on the Government over the lathi-charge on students, saying every ‘lathi’ blow on any boy or girl hurt the Government’s prestige more than the backs of the students. “Why was it necessary to fire tear gas shells at students, to rain lathis on them? Why was it necessary — to humiliate young girls by tearing their clothes, to have them beaten mercilessly? Why was it necessary to fire pellet guns and AK-47s at the country’s youth? Are they terrorists,” the Congress general secretary asked, participating in a discussion in Lok Sabha on ‘The Public Examination (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill 2026’.

“Today, these questions are being asked not just by the Congress party, but by the entire nation, and the responsibility to answer them lies with the Government. Why does this Government fear the country’s youth? Who gave it the right to suppress their voices,” she said.

Priyanka Gandhi also dismissed the Government’s announcement of setting up fast-track courts to deal with paper leaks, saying fast-track courts already have a very poor record. “Blaming the opposition in Parliament, playing hollow political games won’t work. If the prime minister wants to win over Gen Z, then making videos with different camera angles will not help. The prime minister needs to change his ‘dil ka angle’, not the angle of cameras,” she said. “This new generation is aware and has an immense capacity to recognize lies. To win their hearts, PM Modi will have to step onto the path of truth,” Priyanka Gandhi said.

Under Modi’s governance, grave “injustice and barbarity” has been done to the youth, she alleged.

“Accept this truth, take responsibility, take concrete steps, and consult experts and take all stakeholders along to prepare a new education system after deep consultations...PM Modi will have to take steps to create employment. Education and healthcare must expand in the country, so that children can dream of a bright future,” she said.

In her 29-minute speech, Priyanka Gandhi also said students can be removed from the streets, but not their questions. “Every ‘lathi’ blow on any boy or girl, hurt the Government’s prestige more than the backs of the students. The youth of the country are demanding justice’?not charity. They had come not to topple the Government, but to redeem their trust,” she said.

Home Minister Amit Shah and Modi will have to answer who gave the order to attack the children with pellet guns, she asked and added that the question is being asked by the entire country.

Talking about her visit to RML hospital last week to meet a young woman injured in the protests and the interaction with her mother, Priyanka Gandhi asked Modi and Shah as to what was the need for suppressing an innocent little girl, humiliating girls and tearing their clothes, unleashing tear gas, pellet guns, and AK-47s on students.

Priyanka Gandhi said the demand of the protesting students was that action should be taken against those who leaked exam papers, reform of education system, education minister Dharmendra Pradhan should resign, and action should be taken against those who brutalized students, and an apology be issued.