Modi vs Meta: New Delhi Threatens Legal Action Over Takedown

WHEN thousands of desperate young people took to the streets across India, they were not merely expressing anger over a single examination scandal; they were crying out against a completely broken system. The recent NEET-UG paper leak proved to be the final straw after a staggering total of 152 exam paper leaks across the country over recent years, leaving millions of hardworking students trapped in endless cycles of stress, re-tests, and uncertainty. Tragically, the human cost of this widespread institutional collapse has been utterly devastating, with around 21 heartbroken students committing suicide after seeing their dreams and years of preparation shattered in an instant. Led by energetic youth movements like the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) alongside opposition voices, massive demonstrations and sit-ins erupted at Jantar Mantar and near Parliament. The sheer scale of public outrage eventually forced Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan to resign on 25 July 2026. However, sacrificing a single minister does very little to hide the wider truth: this ongoing disaster represents a complete systemic failure by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his ruling BJP government, who have consistently failed to safeguard the nation's youth and their future.

Instead of offering genuine empathy or structural reforms, the state responded with severe intimidation, targeting the very youth demanding answers. A fifteen-year-old girl from Noida found herself facing a police FIR after being caught up in the intense emotions at the protest, eventually posting a tearful apology video online to plead for mercy. While Prime Minister Modi released a video message claiming to “forgive misguided children,” his government was simultaneously waging an aggressive war against social media platforms. When Facebook briefly removed an official video featuring Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on July 23, 2026, New Delhi’s reaction was swift and fierce. The selfie-style video, in which PM Modi addressed students and Gen Z regarding examination controversies and paper leaks, was restricted for about five to six hours before being restored. The Parliamentary Standing Committee on IT, led by Nishikant Dubey, aggressively interrogated Meta representatives. Dismissing Meta’s corporate apology, lawmakers threatened legal action and warned chief executive Mark Zuckerberg that failure to comply could cost the platform its vital safe harbour protection under Section 79 of the IT Act. This heavy-handed response reveals an administration far more obsessed with controlling its public image than protecting frightened teenagers.

This whole crisis exposes a deeply troubling pattern of political arrogance, official deflection, and operational failure at the highest levels of Indian governance. When peaceful student protesters face criminal police action and are forced into public humiliations while the corrupt masterminds behind national exam leaks remain untouched, the government’s priorities are laid bare. Prime Minister Modi and his BJP government have repeatedly attempted to shield themselves from accountability, deploying state machinery to silence critics and intimidate young citizens rather than fixing an examination system that is rotten to its core. While the resignation of the Education Minister marked a victory for student activism, it cannot erase the Prime Minister’s overarching failure. A government that fails to conduct fair exams, bullies grieving teenagers, and uses legislative threats against global platforms to defend its ego has lost its moral authority. India’s youth deserve transparency, justice, and respect, not an authoritarian state that treats their fragile futures as collateral damage.

~ Zogam Today | Editorial | 11 August 2026