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'Dharmendra Pradhan offered to resign on Day 1 of protests’: BJP leader makes bombshell claim
Kailash Vijayvargiya also claimed that Pradhan's resignation had "foiled the designs" of foreign forces seeking to destabilise India.
A day after Dharmendra Pradhan resigned as Union Education Minister following weeks of protests over the alleged NEET-UG paper leak, senior BJP leader and Madhya Pradesh minister Kailash Vijayvargiya claimed that Pradhan had offered to step down on the very first day of the student agitation.
Vijayvargiya also claimed that Pradhan's resignation had "foiled the designs" of foreign forces seeking to destabilise India, news agency PTI reported.
"Pradhan's resignation has foiled the designs of those foreign forces that wanted to destabilise India by spreading violence, as happened in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. I congratulate him for what he has done," Vijayvargiya said.
'Ready to resign from day one'
According to Vijayvargiya, Pradhan had informed the BJP leadership at the outset of the agitation that he was willing to resign if the party believed it was necessary, the report added.
"On the first day, as soon as the student agitation began, Pradhan had told the BJP president that if he felt it was necessary, he was ready to resign as education minister," he said.
Vijayvargiya claimed the BJP president asked Pradhan not to resign at the time, saying no decision had been taken on the issue and instructing him not to submit his resignation or discuss the matter with anyone.
"Later, when circumstances changed and the party decided that Pradhan should step down, he resigned immediately," Vijayvargiya added.
The BJP leader also said Pradhan had carried out every responsibility entrusted to him with honesty and dedication.
Vijayvargiya criticised the Congress for celebrating Pradhan's resignation, saying the party was taking credit for a movement it did not lead. Using a Hindi proverb, he said the Opposition was "beating drums over the birth of a child in a neighbour's house".
"What role did the Congress play in the student agitation? The students launched the agitation and the Congress merely stood behind them. After the West Bengal assembly election, the Opposition became completely demoralised and, in that state of despair, found a ray of hope in the Cockroach Janata Party," he claimed.
He also questioned whether any Congress leader had faced police action during the course of the student agitation.
Responding to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's allegation that the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) had acted like "termites" and hollowed out the country's education system, Vijayvargiya said, "I feel very sorry for Rahul Gandhi's political ideology and his intellect. I think he still needs to understand what the RSS is."
"The country is moving in the right direction," he added, crediting the RSS for its contribution.
Pradhan resigned as Union education minister on Saturday amid mounting pressure over the NEET paper leak controversy, with the Centre conceding the principal demand of the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP)-led agitation after weeks of protests that spread from Delhi to several parts of the country.
Announcing his resignation, Pradhan said the developments of the past 10 days had "saddened" him deeply and that the issue was "not a matter of personal prestige."
Following his resignation, the CJP called off its 36-day agitation, which had mobilised lakhs of people over alleged irregularities in examinations and the NEET paper leak.
Union Minister Pralhad Joshi has been given additional charge of the education ministry while also continuing as consumer affairs minister.
(With inputs from agencies)
