Manish Tewari (File photo)
NEW DELHI: Congress MP Manish Tewari on Tuesday cited recent youth-led protests across South Asia to argue that today’s generation will no longer accept entitlement. The BJP, seizing on his remarks, claimed they were a veiled swipe at Rahul Gandhi — the “ultimate nepo kid” — and described Tewari’s comment as a “revolt from within” the Congress.“The toppling of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa in Sri Lanka in July 2023, Sheikh Hasina in Bangladesh in July 2024, KP Sharma Oli in Nepal in September 2025, and now the protests against Ferdinand Marcos Jr in the Philippines have one word written over them: ENTITLEMENT IS NO LONGER ACCEPTABLE TO Gen X, Y, Z,” Tewari wrote on X, while promoting his upcoming piece titled ‘The Social Media Trends that toppled or are challenging Dynasts.’ Latching onto Tewari’s remarks, BJP IT cell chief Amit Malviya said it was not just Gen Z but also senior Congress leaders who were weary of Rahul Gandhi’s “regressive politics.” He pointed out that Tewari is part of the group of 23 Congress veterans who had earlier demanded internal reforms in the party, widely known as the “G23.”Hitting back, the Chandigarh MP urged the ruling party to “grow up.”“Everything does not have to be dumbed down to a Cong–BJP he-said-she-said or targeting X or Y. What is happening in South Asia and East Asia has serious national security implications, and why it is happening needs to be understood in the correct perspective,” Tewari said. Last week, Rahul Gandhi had appealed to “Gen Z” in a social media post, urging them to stand up for India’s Constitution. His remarks followed a press conference — his second — alleging “vote chori” (vote theft) by the Election Commission.In Nepal, meanwhile, the recent demonstrations were widely branded as “Gen Z protests” since these were spearheaded by school and college students opposing a now-revoked social media ban. The agitation soon broadened into a wider movement against corruption, unemployment, and the “Nepo kids” — foreign-based children of Nepali politicians.In Bangladesh, too, protests that began over a government job quota quickly turned anti-establishment after a harsh crackdown. Both Bangladesh and Nepal are currently under caretaker administrations.
