With midnight selfie video, how PM spoke to Gen Z in their own language
In his late-night selfie video, PM Modi focused on reassuring students by promising swift legal action, fast-track courts and tougher anti-paper leak laws.
At 11.52 pm on Thursday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi posted a selfie video message, reaching out directly to students and assuring them that the government stood with them amid the NEET paper leak controversy. Acknowledging that the leak was "not a trivial issue", he promised decisive action, including a Cabinet decision on Friday on a proposed law providing for fast-track courts and stricter punishment for those involved in exam malpractices.
The outreach marked a departure from the Prime Minister's usual mode of communication. Rather than delivering a televised address from an official setting, Modi chose a less-than-three-minute selfie video, seemingly tailored for a younger, digital-first audience.
Addressing students as "Friends", he said, "I know that the paper leak is not a trivial issue. It has caused immense pain to lakhs of students and their parents. That is why, over the past two and a half months since the paper leak incident, several steps have been taken. The culprits have been arrested and are now in jail."
The timing of the message was equally striking. Prime Minister Modi is not known for releasing late-night video statements. Even during landmark events such as demonetisation or Operation Sindoor, there were no midnight messages. On Thursday, however, he posted the video at 11.52 pm, a time when many young people are still active on social media, a deliberate attempt to connect with Gen Z on the platforms they frequent.
The Prime Minister also struck a markedly different political tone in the video. He refrained from attacking the Opposition or referring to ‘those trying to harm the nation's future’, as he has done in previous speeches.
He focused almost entirely on students' anxieties. He acknowledged the distress caused by the paper leak, assured students that those responsible had been arrested and jailed and stressed that the government's immediate priority was to ensure that no student lost an academic year.
"Our foremost responsibility was to ensure that students did not lose an entire academic year. It was therefore essential to conduct the examinations as quickly as possible. The government used its full capacity to organise the exams for around 22 lakh students in the shortest possible time. Just five or six days ago, on the 19th, the results were also declared. Across the country, students are celebrating their success. But we are not among those who are satisfied with just that," he said.
Seeking to project a swift administrative response, the Prime Minister added he had directed departments earlier on Thursday to prepare provisions for fast-track courts to deal with examination-related offences and a draft was received on the same night. "The draft will be discussed in the Cabinet tomorrow and we will make every effort to have the Bill passed in Parliament at the earliest," he said.
Senior journalist Smita Prakash, among those who noted the Prime Minister's departure from his usual communication style, described the selfie-mode video as "innovative and effective" as it reached a wider audience.
"12 million views for a message recorded on selfie mode and posted just after midnight. Quite a departure from the earlier style of communication. Innovative and effective," she wrote on X.
The video, which has garnered nearly 20 million views, however, drew sharp reactions as well. Many users demanded that the Prime Minister directly address the role of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and the police action against CJP leaders.
Some flagged it as a delayed response, while others remarked that protesters at Jantar Mantar do not have internet access to receive the message there. Many on the internet called upon the Prime Minister to hold a press conference, instead of video message.
This was Prime Minister Modi's second message to students in a day, reiterating his assurance of action. Earlier in the morning, he had posted on X: "Nothing is more important than the welfare and future of our youth!"
By framing the government's response around protecting students' aspirations, restoring confidence in competitive examinations and preventing such incidents from recurring, PM Modi appeared to make a calibrated outreach to Gen Z at a time when the paper leak controversy has triggered nationwide protests led by the CJP and intensified pressure on the government.
At 11.52 pm on Thursday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi posted a selfie video message, reaching out directly to students and assuring them that the government stood with them amid the NEET paper leak controversy. Acknowledging that the leak was "not a trivial issue", he promised decisive action, including a Cabinet decision on Friday on a proposed law providing for fast-track courts and stricter punishment for those involved in exam malpractices.
The outreach marked a departure from the Prime Minister's usual mode of communication. Rather than delivering a televised address from an official setting, Modi chose a less-than-three-minute selfie video, seemingly tailored for a younger, digital-first audience.
Addressing students as "Friends", he said, "I know that the paper leak is not a trivial issue. It has caused immense pain to lakhs of students and their parents. That is why, over the past two and a half months since the paper leak incident, several steps have been taken. The culprits have been arrested and are now in jail."
The timing of the message was equally striking. Prime Minister Modi is not known for releasing late-night video statements. Even during landmark events such as demonetisation or Operation Sindoor, there were no midnight messages. On Thursday, however, he posted the video at 11.52 pm, a time when many young people are still active on social media, a deliberate attempt to connect with Gen Z on the platforms they frequent.
The Prime Minister also struck a markedly different political tone in the video. He refrained from attacking the Opposition or referring to ‘those trying to harm the nation's future’, as he has done in previous speeches.
He focused almost entirely on students' anxieties. He acknowledged the distress caused by the paper leak, assured students that those responsible had been arrested and jailed and stressed that the government's immediate priority was to ensure that no student lost an academic year.
"Our foremost responsibility was to ensure that students did not lose an entire academic year. It was therefore essential to conduct the examinations as quickly as possible. The government used its full capacity to organise the exams for around 22 lakh students in the shortest possible time. Just five or six days ago, on the 19th, the results were also declared. Across the country, students are celebrating their success. But we are not among those who are satisfied with just that," he said.
Seeking to project a swift administrative response, the Prime Minister added he had directed departments earlier on Thursday to prepare provisions for fast-track courts to deal with examination-related offences and a draft was received on the same night. "The draft will be discussed in the Cabinet tomorrow and we will make every effort to have the Bill passed in Parliament at the earliest," he said.
Senior journalist Smita Prakash, among those who noted the Prime Minister's departure from his usual communication style, described the selfie-mode video as "innovative and effective" as it reached a wider audience.
"12 million views for a message recorded on selfie mode and posted just after midnight. Quite a departure from the earlier style of communication. Innovative and effective," she wrote on X.
The video, which has garnered nearly 20 million views, however, drew sharp reactions as well. Many users demanded that the Prime Minister directly address the role of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and the police action against CJP leaders.
Some flagged it as a delayed response, while others remarked that protesters at Jantar Mantar do not have internet access to receive the message there. Many on the internet called upon the Prime Minister to hold a press conference, instead of video message.
This was Prime Minister Modi's second message to students in a day, reiterating his assurance of action. Earlier in the morning, he had posted on X: "Nothing is more important than the welfare and future of our youth!"
By framing the government's response around protecting students' aspirations, restoring confidence in competitive examinations and preventing such incidents from recurring, PM Modi appeared to make a calibrated outreach to Gen Z at a time when the paper leak controversy has triggered nationwide protests led by the CJP and intensified pressure on the government.
At 11.52 pm on Thursday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi posted a selfie video message, reaching out directly to students and assuring them that the government stood with them amid the NEET paper leak controversy. Acknowledging that the leak was "not a trivial issue", he promised decisive action, including a Cabinet decision on Friday on a proposed law providing for fast-track courts and stricter punishment for those involved in exam malpractices.
The outreach marked a departure from the Prime Minister's usual mode of communication. Rather than delivering a televised address from an official setting, Modi chose a less-than-three-minute selfie video, seemingly tailored for a younger, digital-first audience.
Addressing students as "Friends", he said, "I know that the paper leak is not a trivial issue. It has caused immense pain to lakhs of students and their parents. That is why, over the past two and a half months since the paper leak incident, several steps have been taken. The culprits have been arrested and are now in jail."
The timing of the message was equally striking. Prime Minister Modi is not known for releasing late-night video statements. Even during landmark events such as demonetisation or Operation Sindoor, there were no midnight messages. On Thursday, however, he posted the video at 11.52 pm, a time when many young people are still active on social media, a deliberate attempt to connect with Gen Z on the platforms they frequent.
The Prime Minister also struck a markedly different political tone in the video. He refrained from attacking the Opposition or referring to ‘those trying to harm the nation's future’, as he has done in previous speeches.
He focused almost entirely on students' anxieties. He acknowledged the distress caused by the paper leak, assured students that those responsible had been arrested and jailed and stressed that the government's immediate priority was to ensure that no student lost an academic year.
"Our foremost responsibility was to ensure that students did not lose an entire academic year. It was therefore essential to conduct the examinations as quickly as possible. The government used its full capacity to organise the exams for around 22 lakh students in the shortest possible time. Just five or six days ago, on the 19th, the results were also declared. Across the country, students are celebrating their success. But we are not among those who are satisfied with just that," he said.
Seeking to project a swift administrative response, the Prime Minister added he had directed departments earlier on Thursday to prepare provisions for fast-track courts to deal with examination-related offences and a draft was received on the same night. "The draft will be discussed in the Cabinet tomorrow and we will make every effort to have the Bill passed in Parliament at the earliest," he said.
Senior journalist Smita Prakash, among those who noted the Prime Minister's departure from his usual communication style, described the selfie-mode video as "innovative and effective" as it reached a wider audience.
"12 million views for a message recorded on selfie mode and posted just after midnight. Quite a departure from the earlier style of communication. Innovative and effective," she wrote on X.
The video, which has garnered nearly 20 million views, however, drew sharp reactions as well. Many users demanded that the Prime Minister directly address the role of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and the police action against CJP leaders.
Some flagged it as a delayed response, while others remarked that protesters at Jantar Mantar do not have internet access to receive the message there. Many on the internet called upon the Prime Minister to hold a press conference, instead of video message.
This was Prime Minister Modi's second message to students in a day, reiterating his assurance of action. Earlier in the morning, he had posted on X: "Nothing is more important than the welfare and future of our youth!"
By framing the government's response around protecting students' aspirations, restoring confidence in competitive examinations and preventing such incidents from recurring, PM Modi appeared to make a calibrated outreach to Gen Z at a time when the paper leak controversy has triggered nationwide protests led by the CJP and intensified pressure on the government.
