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video clip featuring an apology from a youth protester to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the insults made against him has gone viral on social media platforms in India.From the video clip, it can be observed that the young lady is standing in a prayer position, feeling remorseful about what occurred and calling it her "first and last mistake".
According to her, while she was taking part in a protest demonstration, she found herself carried away by the crowd, and made statements that she did not agree with.
This quick viral trend of the clip has made it a national discussion topic.
The dispute arises from the student demonstration that occurred in Delhi on account of the NEET entrance exam papers being leaked, an issue which has caused unrest on many occasions in India in recent times.
At the demonstration held in Jantar Mantar, the demonstrators reportedly abused the Prime Minister. This particular young lady who is the subject of the controversy was among those who did so because, she has said, the environment at the protest affected her decisions.
The problem of NEET paper leak is, in itself, controversial as it has angered many students and parents regarding the examination process.
She faced a complaint at the Noida police station on account of her statements, and the complaint stated that the statement made by her had dishonored the dignity of the Prime Minister’s Office and might also cause disruption of public peace.
She received Zero FIR at the Noida police station and this FIR was later shifted to the Parliament Street Police Station in New Delhi.
A Zero FIR enables one to file a complaint at any police station irrespective of the place where the crime took place; it is later transferred to the respective police station.
There is one particular aspect of this incident that has received as much attention as the apology itself, and that is her age. The FIR has mentioned her age as 25 years, while in her apology video, she claims that she is just 15 years old.
It must be mentioned that this particular point has not been verified by any outside source, as many other sources reporting on the incident have stated that there has been no verification of the claim.
It is important due to the fact that it will impact how the case will be taken up legally, as well as what role minor protections can play in her case.
From her way of apologizing, she feels remorseful when she says she is ashamed of herself and finds it hard looking at herself. Her remarks were "not worthy of forgiveness," for she proceeded to say "a lot of bad things" in the course of the protest.
She apologizes not only to the Prime Minister but to the whole nation and seeks for forgiveness from them and promises them that it will never happen again.
She views the situation as a single act of weakness caused by peer pressure during the demonstration and not by any form of hatred.
Interestingly, it should be noted that the apology video was released hours after Modi himself released a video of himself answering to the protest slogans. Speaking about the demonstration at Jantar Mantar, he stated that although the protesters insulted him in very insulting terms and spared neither him nor his mother, he would choose to forgive them rather than punish them.
He stated that errors committed in childhood can be rectified, saying that this is one of those things of growing up, and encouraged society to help youngsters on the wrong path rather than punish them severely.
All publications reporting on this incident have also made sure to include a disclaimer that the video's genuineness remains unverified. This is a typical measure in viral videos where the identity of those featured has yet to be independently verified, especially when there is a pending case and strong public opinion at stake.
With the unresolved discrepancy in her age as well as her video being unverified, it has become difficult to distinguish between factual information, FIR, the demonstration and the complaint against her on one hand, and unverified information, primarily her age and the conditions in which she apologized on the other hand.
The incident is not only an isolated one, but also raises the question of debate around protest speech and the extent to which legal consequences can go when someone makes statements while being under the pressure of a protest.
In addition, the issue relates to the general public discontent with regard to the problem of the NEET paper-leak, thus resulting in student protests becoming common phenomena on the political scene. The wide dissemination of the apology video along with the message of the Prime Minister has transformed the issue from a strictly legal case into one of forgiveness and youth mistakes.
