BJP leader Shehzad Poonawalla on Saturday took a dig at those who have accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of authoritarianism, sarcastically remarking that the Prime Minister had "failed" to become a dictator even after more than a decade in office.

In a video shared on social media, Poonawalla said he was "disappointed" with Modi, adding in a tongue-in-cheek manner that the Prime Minister had not lived up to the opposition's claims of dictatorship.

His comments came a day after Modi released a video message asking people to forgive students who allegedly used abusive language against him and his late mother during the protests over the NEET controversy at Delhi's Jantar Mantar.

Highlighting the Prime Minister's response, Poonawalla said that instead of taking a hard line, Modi had appealed to society, law-enforcement agencies and the public to pardon the students and help them learn from their mistakes.

Referring to the Prime Minister's message, the BJP leader said Modi had described the protesters as misguided youngsters and had urged people not to seek retribution against them.

Poonawalla also used the opportunity to target Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, invoking the legacy of former prime ministers Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi. He alleged that the Congress had a history of suppressing dissent and imposing restrictions on freedom of expression.

The BJP leader further claimed that while the Centre had agreed to withdraw cases against student protesters after accepting their demands, opposition-ruled states had initiated legal action over social media posts, slogans and public demonstrations.

Citing examples from different states, Poonawalla alleged that critics and protesters had faced police action under governments led by opposition parties.

He also referred to historical movements, including the anti-Emergency protests, the Assam agitation and the anti-corruption campaign led by Anna Hazare, claiming that large numbers of protesters had been detained during those periods.

Addressing Prime Minister Modi directly, Poonawalla remarked that despite years of criticism from political opponents and activists, the Prime Minister had not become the authoritarian figure they often portrayed him to be.

The BJP leader's comments came amid an ongoing political debate over the government's handling of the NEET paper leak protests, which ended after Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan resigned and several demands raised by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) were accepted.

In his video message released on Friday, Prime Minister Modi acknowledged that the slogans raised during the protests had caused pain but urged people not to punish the students. He said society had a responsibility to guide young people instead of publicly humiliating them or dragging them into prolonged legal battles.

The NEET protests, which lasted for more than a month, sparked nationwide political reactions, with several opposition leaders accusing the government of responding to the demonstrations in an undemocratic manner. Leaders from parties including the Congress, AIMIM and Shiv Sena (UBT) had repeatedly used the term "dictatorship" while criticising the Centre's response.

Poonawalla's latest remarks were widely seen as a rebuttal to those allegations.