Former Union education minister and Sambalpur MP Dharmendra Pradhan on Saturday broke his silence on his resignation and said Gen Z was misled during the protests over the NEET paper leak controversy that eventually led to his resignation. He added that he had urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to acknowledge and address the concerns of the protesters.
Speaking at a felicitation ceremony for Padma awardees in Sambalpur, Pradhan said he had met PM Modi and sought his permission to acknowledge the aspirations of the younger generation rather than allow their grievances to be exploited for political ends. “Modi agreed and later addressed the issue himself,” he said.
“I have been a victim of Gen Z. For some time, the way this whole episode unfolded, I felt some people tried to mislead the children of the new generation,” Pradhan said.
“I met the Prime Minister and requested him to agree to the desire of Gen Z. I told him to allow me to acknowledge this in front of the children. I never staked my personal honour in the matter,” he said.
“The Prime Minister accepted this, and later he himself spoke about it in front of the children.”
{{/usCountry}}“The Prime Minister accepted this, and later he himself spoke about it in front of the children.”
{{/usCountry}}Also Read | Dharmendra Pradhan resigns as education minister amid massive paper leak protests
Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation
Pradhan resigned on July 25 amid weeks of student protests over the NEET paper leak controversy.
In his resignation note, he had said the move was aimed at ensuring that “anti-national forces” did not exploit the agitation, that the unity of the country remained intact and that the future of students did not get “entangled in legal complexities”. “It is not a matter of individual prestige for me,” he had said in the note.
Pradhan had also said the government had acted immediately after irregularities were reported in the May 3 NEET-UG examination. The probe was handed to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the test was cancelled and a re-examination was conducted on June 21, with results declared on July 16.
He said he had taken responsibility from the beginning and would not allow the prospects of meritorious students to be affected by the examination system. “From the very first day, I took responsibility for this, and I never turned away from this situation,” he said.
Also Read | ‘Not a matter of personal prestige’: Dharmendra Pradhan quits over paper leaks
'20 crore children of the new generation…': Pradhan
On Saturday, Pradhan said India’s young population would be crucial to the country’s ambition of becoming a global power.
“Every year, around two crore children are born in India. If we look at those between the ages of 15 and 25, within a period of 10 years, there will be 20 crore children of the new generation on whose shoulders India will become a global leader,” Pradhan said.
Efforts to engage with Gen Z
His remarks come as PM Modi and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat have stepped up efforts to engage with Gen Z, which has emerged as a major political force following the protests.
Also Read | 'Pradhan never ran education ministry, RSS did': Rahul Gandhi's dig over resignation
BJD's reaction hits back at Pradhan
BJD’s Sambalpur district president and former minister Rohit Pujari hit back at Pradhan, saying the BJP leader had been criticised over the handling of the student protests.
“Nobody had defamed Pradhan. His party and government have defamed him by police resorting to lathi-charge, tear gas and atrocities during the peaceful student agitation at Jantar Mantar. Pradhan was facing criticism because of such incidents and ultimately he resigned,” Pujari said, alleging that more than 20 students had died by suicide over the controversy.
Pujari said it was the BJP government’s “wrong policy” that had brought a bad name to Pradhan.