When Mohan Bhagwat says Gen Z not anti-national, why BJP attacked protesters: Congress, NCP (SP)

Opposition parties Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party Sharadchandra Pawar on Friday questioned the BJP over its response to recent youth protests asking why several party leaders had criticised demonstrators when Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat said members of Generation Z should not be branded as antinationalThe opposition also accused the BJP and the RSS of adopting double standards in their approach towards young protesters citing differing public statements made by leaders of the Sangh ParivarBhagwat calls for dialogue with Gen ZThe political reactions followed Bhagwats address to around 2000 members of Gen Z and Gen Alpha in Mumbai on Thursday where he urged dialogue with young people instead of labelling them antinationalIf Gen Z members are agitating they are not antinational they are our people It is our next generation You need a dialogue and rapport with them Bhagwat saidHis remarks came in the backdrop of recent nationwide protests by students and young job aspirants over issues including examination paper leaks and employmentNCP SP alleges contradiction within Sangh ParivarNCP SP spokesperson Mahesh Tapase said Bhagwats remarks stood in contrast to statements made by several BJP leaders during the recent protestsAccording to Tapase BJP leaders including MPs Nishikant Dubey and Kangana Ranaut had publicly questioned the intentions of protesting youths during demonstrations linked to the NEET controversyThis contradiction is impossible to ignore The youth of India deserve to know which face represents the real ideology of the RSS he saidTapase further alleged It appears to be a carefully calibrated political strategy one voice attempts to soften the image of the establishment while another continues to intimidate polarise and delegitimise dissent The Indian youth cannot be misled by this double standard approachHe also said that if Bhagwat genuinely believes young people deserve dialogue and respect he should publicly disapprove of BJP leaders who had questioned the patriotism of student protestersCongress targets education policiesCongress spokesperson Sachin Sawant said Bhagwats comments on education should be matched by concrete actionReferring to the RSS chiefs reported support for increasing education spending to six per cent of the countrys GDP Sawant demanded changes in the higher education systemIt is now expected that vicechancellors professors and other incompetent officials who were appointed in universities by the government at the behest of the RSS would be removed immediately The RSS has played a major role in damaging the education sector Sawant said in a statementOpposition raises questions over police actionNCP SP national spokesperson Clyde Crasto questioned the governments handling of the recent youth protests and alleged that the BJP was now attempting to align itself with the popularity of Gen ZWhere were they when there was a lathi charge on these peaceful protesters Who ordered the lathi charge on the Gen Z is a question that the BJPled government needs to answer Crasto saidMeanwhile Maharashtra Navnirman Sena MNS chief Raj Thackeray alleged that action against student protesters in New Delhi reflected internal differences within the BJPClaiming that the protests were driven by public anger Thackeray said The agitation at Jantar Mantar is just the beginning It was the result of the nationwide anger against the governmentDuring his visit to Nashik Thackeray also criticised Maharashtra minister Chandrakant Patil urging him to focus on the concerns of young people instead of making claims about identifying protesters through forensic methods He further criticised the government over potholerelated deaths in Nashik