Indian lawmakers this week were seen “clocking it” and using popular Gen Z catchphrases in parliament, days after a mass youth-led movement forced the country's education minister to resign.
In the days after the protests in Delhi, Indian politicians were seen attempting to connect with the younger generations by using popular phrases such as “vasteguna huiya", “delulu” and "FOMO" (fear of missing out).
The July protest forced the resignation of Dharmendra Pradhan, marking a rare setback for prime minister Narendra Modi's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government and a massive victory for the Indian youth.
The protest was both fought on the streets of the Indian capital and other cities, along with Instagram, where students openly mocked Mr Modi through memes, placards and graffiti and criticised the Delhi police for using brute force on unarmed protesters.
VIDEO | Parliament Monsoon Session 2026: Speaking in the Lok Sabha, Union Minister of State Jitendra Singh says, "One of our respected members pointed out that, initially, the Opposition was reluctant to associate itself with this protest because they believed it was an Aam Aadmi… pic.twitter.com/C66V20xtUB
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) July 29, 2026
The protest was led by the Cockroach Janta Party, a pressure group born out of satire, which quickly amassed 22 million followers, mainly from the demographic group born from 1997 to 2012, in a matter of days in May. It was triggered by a leaked medical-entrance exam, which affected more than two million students, amid growing anxieties over youth unemployment in the country.
Since the protest, the BJP has instructed its members to be more active and productive on Instagram, a platform that is more popular among younger audiences. But Gen Z is not entirely impressed.
Mr Modi tested the waters last week with a rare selfie video, where he held the camera too close to his face, and said he was pained by the suffering of the students and promised remedial steps. He posted another video the next day, this time from a distance, thanking "friends" for teaching him how to shoot videos better.
Saurav Das, a spokesperson with the “cockroach” party, replied in Hindi with a crying emoji: "What kind of people have we elected?"
“PM Modi clocked it” जैसा Gen-Z कहती है।यानी समस्या को समय रहते पहचाना, निर्णायक निर्णय लिया और व्यवस्था को जवाबदेह बनाया।
— Bansuri Swaraj (@BansuriSwaraj) July 28, 2026
फर्क साफ है। सोच का भी, शासन का भी और संकल्प का भी।
UPA का मंत्र था:
Delay • Deflect • Deny
मोदी सरकार का मंत्र है:
Detect • Decide • Deliver
30 साल… pic.twitter.com/WO8tLCuRiy
"Get ready with me post when," asked another user, mocking the prime minister's midnight video.
Inside parliament, BJP lawmaker Bansuri Swaraj used "clock it" in her speech to describe the Modi government’s interventions. Ms Swaraj said “Modiji clocked it and provided a legislative solution [to the exam leak issue]”.
Her party colleague from Karnataka, Tejasvi Surya, said the opposition was "delulu" or delusional, for criticising a tougher anti-paper leak bill.
Shrikant Shinde from the Shiv Sena party accused the opposition of being "MIA" [missing in action]. Minister Jitendra Singh on Wednesday accused opposition leader Rahul Gandhi of being driven by "FOMO" or fear of missing out over his ambition to become the country's prime minister.
"The Opposition thinks because of this issue, they have the youth on their side. There can be no bigger Delulu than that.
— BJYM (@BJYM) July 28, 2026
Today’s youth are aware, informed and quick to recognise who is genuinely working for them.
They know that if someone is working in their interest, it is PM… pic.twitter.com/9xHpcbXcYa
"Opposition leader feared that he was MIA. This is as per Gen Z language. He had FOMO," the minister said.
Congress member Deepender Singh Hooda invoked the viral protest catchphrase "vasteguna huiya", a word which has no meaning. The viral catchphrase comes from a mispronounced meme "Can I get a Hoya?"
Indians aged 18 to 40 are estimated to make up about 40 per cent of the population but hold only about 10 per cent of seats in the lower house of parliament [Lok Sabha], down from more than double that in the 1950s. The cabinet's average age is more than 60.
The BJP released an Instagram reel showing young people discussing the student protests, which then goes on to contrast an "old India" marked by "terrorism and corruption" with alleged "improved infrastructure, education and connectivity".
"How will Gen Z relate to this, at least make a better video," a comment under the post read. "I am embarrassed for this page," read another.
The BJP may rule most of India, and calls itself the world's largest political party, but it has managed just 10 million Instagram followers in years, less than half what the CJP gained in days.
विरोधकांना Gen-Z भाषेत FOMO झाला आहे..!!#Shivsena #Drshrikanteknathshinde pic.twitter.com/9st98X4dC9
— Dr Shrikant Lata Eknath Shinde (@DrSEShinde) July 28, 2026
The BJP has 23 million followers on X and 18 million on Facebook, though Mr Modi's personal followers on all three social media platforms are massive, ranging between 60 and 107 million.
"Political parties: make all the reels you want. Just stop sending middle-aged uncles to mansplain democracy to Gen Z. They have already scrolled," wrote author and political commentator Sayantan Ghosh.
Columnist Santosh Desai told Reuters that "you need a kind of authenticity for Instagram".
Lok Sabha में Gen-Z के अंदाज का जिक्र कर Deepender Singh Hooda ने केंद्र पर साधा निशाना#DeependerSinghHooda #VastegunaHuiya #GenZ pic.twitter.com/GjEpo1T92w
— Amar Ujala (@AmarUjalaNews) July 29, 2026
"Pre-laboured, carefully massaged messages won’t work. This medium was created by this generation and has become what it has thanks to this generation. This generation has no reverence."
More than 100 people were arrested across the country following the protests, with many of them named under non-bailable charges, CJP said.
