Delulu, clock it, FOMO: Gen Z slang dominates Lok Sabha debate on NEET row
The Lok Sabha's debate on the anti-paper leak amendment Bill on Tuesday took an unusual turn as lawmakers across party lines peppered their speeches with
The Lok Sabha's debate on the anti-paper leak amendment Bill on Tuesday took an unusual turn as lawmakers across party lines peppered their speeches with Gen Z slang such as 'delulu', 'FOMO', 'MIA' and 'clock it', even as the House discussed the fallout of the NEET-UG 2026 paper leak and reforms to India's examination system. The youth-centric vocabulary, more commonly seen on social media than in Parliament, became a talking point during the marathon debate, with MPs using the expressions to target political opponents, prompting NCP (SP) leader Supriya Sule to object that Parliament was discussing an education crisis, "not the Oxford online dictionary", PTI reported. Read Full Story Shiv Sena MP Shrikant Shinde was among the first to lean into Gen Z lingo while attacking the Opposition over its July 20 protest outside Prime Minister Narendra Modi's residence. "I would like to sum up the Opposition's protest in Gen Z language.
They were MIA (missing in action) for the first 37 days... Then came FOMO (fear of missing out)... Finally, they became 'delulu' (delusional), believing the protesting students would join them, but no one did," he said, according to PTI. BJP MP Bansuri Swaraj also borrowed a popular Gen Z expression while defending the government's response to the NEET crisis. "Where Congress created a policy vacuum, Modi clocked it, if I may borrow the language of Gen Z, and created a solution," she said, using the slang phrase that means noticing or calling something out. VIDEO | Delhi: BJP MP Bansuri Swaraj in Lok Sabha hails Prime Minister for the introduction of the anti-paper leak bill. She says, "In Gen-Z language, PM Modi 'clocked it'." (Source: SANSAD TV) pic.twitter.com/XTjYQAliiU— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) July 28, 2026 BJP MP Tejasvi Surya continued the trend, calling the Opposition "delulu" for believing young voters had rallied behind it because of the paper leak controversy.
"I want to tell the Opposition... there is no bigger delulu than this," he said, adding that students were more interested in systemic reforms than political sparring. "As they say in Gen Z language, you need to fix the source code to fix the system," Surya remarked while arguing for structural reforms in the examination process. From the Opposition benches, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra turned the Gen Z narrative towards Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying winning over young people required more than carefully produced videos. "If the Prime Minister wants to win over the Gen Z, then videos changing camera angles will not help. The Prime Minister needs to change the angle of his heart, not the angle of cameras," she said. Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav invoked the slogan "Jhukane Wala Chahiye, Sarkar Bhi Jhukti Hai", raised during the student protests, to accuse the government of arrogance in handling the NEET controversy.
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