On 31 July 2026, late in the day, Prime Minister Modi released a video message, PM Modi forgave students who were protesting at Jantar Mantar and used abusive language against him and his late mother, saying that these young students need to be guided instead of being punished or subjected to lengthy court proceedings. The message was the fifth video message by Modi in a week following a Ghaziabad resident who had complained that a Noida woman used abusive and objectionable language against the Prime Minister during the recent protest over a paper leak in the NEET exam, leading to a police case which was transferred from Noida to Delhi.

Modi has shared the video across his social media accounts and said in it that the country and the world had seen what transpired at Jantar Mantar, where some of the protesters used language that “would not suit any civilised society. He claimed that “abuses were not only targeted at him, but his late mother too, and it was very disturbing.” Despite this, PM Modi forgave students involved in the incident, saying that though anger is understandable, it shouldn’t lead to punitive action.

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“Abuses will never resolve anything; we have to lead the misguided,” he said, a sentiment that resonated with many on social media. He noted the culture shock young women were facing in using such words, but also explained that this was the time to set them on the way, not send them to court. It’s also why the PM Modi forgave students story has spread so fast across news outlets in the last 24 hours, and on social media: that’s a high-level gesture of forgiveness that’s happened publicly.

Using a metaphor, Modi likened the students to one’s own tongue and teeth and remarked that nobody breaks one’s teeth when one has bitten one’s tongue. Similarly, “society shouldn’t leave its own children behind for their errors,” he said. This is the logic behind PM Modi’s forgiveness for students, rather than pushing for harsher punishment: as everyone makes mistakes in childhood, these students should be given time to learn and reform, the Prime Minister said. He also urged the students protesting to put behind the controversy and instead build the nation with him, as he lived for their future and hoped they work in unity with him for the nation.

The video message came on the day when a Zero FIR was lodged against a woman who had allegedly abused the PM in the Jantar Mantar demonstration, a reminder that while PM Modi forgives students over social media, the law is progressing on its own path. Filed at Noida police station on July 29, on a complaint, the FIR has been transferred to Delhi police as the incident took place within the national capital’s jurisdiction and has named 25-year-old Ruchika Singh.

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The police invoked provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita under which intentional insult with the intention to cause public disorder and to create a situation of disorder with the intent to create communal disharmony, it said in the complaint. They will now conduct a preliminary reading of the contents of the Zero FIR before taking any action, officials said, adding that the case was later transferred to Parliament Street Police Station for investigation.

Protests were sparked by the NEET Paper Leak Controversy, which brought large student groups together at Jantar Mantar in recent weeks to call for government accountability. The footage of demonstrators, including young women, using vulgar and abusive language against the Prime Minister was shared on social media platforms, leading to an argument about the tone of political protests in the country and the swift response from supporters and critics of the government.

Modi was forgiving in his speech, but the political repercussions have been ongoing, and everyone has welcomed the fact that PM Modi forgives students so openly. In response to the video, the Congress party claimed that Modi had “forgiven the country”, as parts of the public still sought an apology from the Prime Minister for their unrelated grievances, stemming from the same protest movement. The act of protesting by the students has also ignited polarisation, as actor Prakash Raj in his public pronouncement warned of the “witch-hunting” that would result.

Even as c in his public messaging, the legal process around the Noida woman’s case continues independently, with police yet to make further announcements on the investigation’s next steps. Legal experts note that a Zero FIR allows a complaint to be registered regardless of where the alleged offence occurred, before being transferred to the police station with proper jurisdiction, which in this case moved the case from Noida to Delhi given that the protest took place at Jantar Mantar.

Beyond the legal dimension, Modi’s video appears aimed chiefly at controlling the narrative around a controversy that has dominated news cycles and social media feeds for days, positioning the Prime Minister as magnanimous even as his government’s supporters and critics continue trading barbs over how the protests, and the language used during them, should ultimately be judged.