‘Delulu’, ‘clock it’, ‘FOMO’: Gen Z slang feature in Parliament’s anti-paper leak debate

The Lok Sabha witnessed an unusual blend of legislative debate and internet culture on Tuesday as Members of Parliament from both the Treasury and Opposition benches used popular Gen Z slang during discussions on the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, 2026, commonly referred to as the anti-paper leak Bill.

The debate, Business Today said quickly drew attention for its repeated use of viral social media phrases, with MPs employing internet terminology to score political points over the examination paper leak controversy.

BJP MP Bansuri Swaraj was among the first to embrace the trend, using the expression "clock it" — a Gen Z phrase meaning to notice or correctly identify something — while praising the Narendra Modi government.

Her party colleague Tejasvi Surya described the Opposition as "delulu", shorthand for "delusional", for believing that young voters had turned against the government over the NEET paper leak issue.

"There is no bigger delulu than this," Surya said, arguing that students were more interested in systemic reforms than political rhetoric. Borrowing another technology-inspired expression, he added that India needed to "fix the source code" of the examination system to prevent future paper leaks.

Shiv Sena MP Shrikant Eknath Shinde also adopted youth-centric terminology, claiming the Opposition was initially "MIA" (Missing in Action) during the student protests before later developing "FOMO" (Fear of Missing Out) and joining the demonstrations. He further alleged that the Opposition became "delulu" by expecting protesting students to support its political campaign.

The Opposition also referenced internet culture during the debate. Congress MP Deepender Hooda invoked the viral meme phrase "waste-guna-huiya", which has no literal meaning but has become widely popular online, while recalling slogans raised during protests against examination irregularities.

Not all members welcomed the shift in tone. NCP (SP) MP Supriya Sule objected to the growing use of internet slang, urging MPs to focus on the seriousness of the issue under discussion.

"This debate is not about the Oxford online dictionary. We are here for a very serious issue," she said.

Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also used the occasion to criticise the government, remarking that if Prime Minister Narendra Modi wanted to connect with Gen Z, "changing camera angles" in videos would not be enough and that he instead needed to "change the angle of his heart."

The exchange marked one of the rare occasions when the language of social media and online youth culture became a prominent feature of parliamentary proceedings, underscoring the growing influence of digital discourse on India's political messaging.