In the 6th edition of Pariksha Pe Charcha (PPC), Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday had a wide-ranging interaction with students, and told them he believed “criticism is a purification yajna and the root condition of a prospering democracy,” but he said, most people just levelled allegations against him, which could not be taken seriously.

Mannat Bajwa, a student from St Joseph’s Secondary School, Chandigarh, Kumkum Pratapbhai Solanki, 12th class student from Ahmedabad and Akash Darira, 12th class student from Whitefield Global School, Bengaluru, wanted to know how the Prime Minister tackled negative views and opinions towards him from the Opposition.

The students, teachers and parents had gathered at Talkatora Stadium for the event, where the students displayed their exhibits also.

The Prime Minister said criticism required hard work and research but these days most people resorted to the easier option of making allegations. “There is a huge gulf between allegations and criticism,” the Prime Minister remarked and cautioned that allegations must not be taken as criticism.

The Prime Minister asked the students to recall scenes from Parliament Sessions when they may see a member addressing the session on a certain topic doesn’t deviate even after getting interrupted by members of the opposition. Even parents should not stop their children from doing things every now and then, as frequent interruptions could affect their confidence and capacity to work naturally.

Throwing light on the importance of Pariksha Pe Charcha, the Prime Minister said the millions of questions that are posed as part of the programme gave him insight into the minds of the young generation of India. “These questions are like a treasure trove for me,” he said. About 38.80 lakh registrations took place this year from 155 countries in this year’s edition of PPC.

Addressing a question regarding family disappointment in the case of poor marks from Ashwini, a Kendriya Vidyalaya student from Madurai, Tamil Nadu, Navtej from KV, Pitampura Delhi, and Priyanka Kumari from Navin Balika School in Patna, the Prime Minister said that there is nothing wrong with family expectations. However if these expectations, he said, are due to social status-related expectations, then it is a matter of concern.

PM Modi talked about ever-increasing standards of performance and growing expectations with every success. He said it is not good to be bogged down by the surrounding web of expectation and one should look inwards and link the expectation with one’s own capabilities, needs, intentions and priorities.

Giving the example of cricket where the crowd keeps on rooting for fours and sixes, the Prime Minister said that a batsman who goes out to bat remains unperturbed even after so many people in the audience plead for a six or a four.

He urged the parents not to burden their kids with expectations and asked the students to always evaluate themselves according to their potential. He told the students to analyse the pressures and see if they are doing justice to their own potential. In such a situation the expectations can spur better performance.

Addressing the questions about not knowing where to start the preparations for the exam and the stressful situation leading to forgetfulness from Arushi Thakur a class 11th student from KV, Dalhousie, and questions about time management during exams from Aditi Diwan from Krishna Public School, Raipur the Prime Minister stressed the importance of time management in general life with or without exams. He said while allocating time to a subject, one should take up the least interesting or most difficult subject when the mind is fresh.

Answering questions on cheating in examinations, he said “Life cannot be successful with cheating. You may clear an exam or two but it will remain questionable in life”, he added. The Prime Minister told the hard-working students not to despair at the temporary success of the cheaters and said that hard work will always benefit them in their lives. “Exams come and go but life is to be lived fully,” he said.

A student from Kozhikode Kerala asked about the need and dynamics of hard work versus smart work, the Prime Minister highlighted the parable of the thirsty crow who threw stones in a pitcher to quench his thirst. The focus should be on what needs to be done. One should do hard work smartly and in the areas that are important, the Prime Minister said.

It is an absolute delight to be among my young friends! Join #ParikshaPeCharcha. https://t.co/lJzryY8bMP

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) January 27, 2023

On stress after exams, he said one exam is not the end of life and overthinking about the results should not become a thing of everyday life. On gaming and online addiction, he said the problem starts when you start to consider the gadget as smarter than you. One’s smartness enables one to utilise the smart gadgets smartly and treat them as instruments that help in productivity.

He gave his own example that he is rarely seen with a mobile phone despite being very active. He said that he keeps a definite time for such activities. One should not avoid technology but restrict oneself to the things of utility as per one’s need.