Senior BJP leader and Sambalpur MP Dharmendra Pradhan has broken his silence on his resignation as Union Education Minister, saying attempts were made to “mislead” Gen Z during protests over the NEET paper leak issue.
Speaking to students and teachers at GM University in Bhubaneswar on Saturday, Pradhan said he had no personal issues with the protesters and that the aspirations of young people were more important to him than his ministerial position.
“Gen Z is our children. Some people attempted to mislead them. I had no personal issues then,” Pradhan said.
He said India has a large young population with high aspirations and that the country's youth would play a key role in making India a global leader.
“At least two crore children are born in India every year. During the last 10 years, 20 crore children were born. They have aspirations, and they will make India the ‘Vishwa Guru’,” he said, adding that the ministerial post was “not important” to him.
Pradhan said he had approached Prime Minister Narendra Modi and offered to resign from the Union Council of Ministers. He stepped down as Education Minister on July 25, amid protests at Delhi's Jantar Mantar over alleged irregularities in the NEET examination.
Also read: CJP's paper leak protest resonated more than Congress': Tharoor
His resignation came after weeks of protests by students and opposition parties demanding accountability over alleged examination irregularities and paper leaks.
During his visit to Odisha, Pradhan also responded to protests by Biju Janata Dal (BJD) workers, who had raised slogans asking him to “go back”.
Addressing a gathering in Rairakhol, Pradhan said he was not disturbed by the protests and asserted that he would continue to return to Odisha.
“I am a farmer's son. Even if you tell me to go back, I will come back,” he said.
BJD leaders, however, criticised Pradhan over the handling of the student protests. Sambalpur district president and former minister Rohit Pujari said the criticism against Pradhan stemmed from the government's handling of the agitation, including alleged police action against protesters.
Pujari also alleged that students had suffered severe mental distress following the examination controversy and blamed the BJP government for what he described as a “wrong policy”.
Pradhan, meanwhile, maintained that he had never done anything that would bring shame to Odisha and said he would continue working for the state.
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