Bhubaneswar: Senior BJP leader and Sambalpur MP Dharmendra Pradhan said attempts were made to “mislead” Gen Z during the protests over the NEET paper leak issue, prompting him to quit as Union education minister.
Pradhan broke his silence on his resignation while addressing students and teachers at GM University Saturday, exactly two weeks after he stepped down amid massive protests at Jantar Mantar in Delhi over the issue.
“Gen Z is our children. Some people attempted to mislead them. I had no personal issues then. 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’. The post was not important to me,” Pradhan said.
He said he had approached Prime Minister Narendra Modi and offered to resign from the Union Council of Ministers.
Pradhan resigned from the ministry July 25.
At another meeting in Rairakhol, Pradhan hit out at former Odisha chief minister and BJD president Naveen Patnaik, saying he was not disturbed by protests by BJD workers and slogans asking him to “go back”.
Referring to a protest by BJD youth and student wing activists near the airport, where slogans such as “Dharmendra Pradhan Go Back” were raised, he said, “I am a farmer’s son. Even if you tell me to go back, I will come back.”
“Naveen Babu also calls me a disgrace to the people of Odisha and a bad person,” Pradhan said, accusing the BJD president of engaging youths in protests against him.
“Have I ever done anything that will shame the people of Odisha?” he asked, drawing a loud response of “No” from the gathering.
“I may not be bringing laurels for the state, but I have never disgraced the people by my work. I will never do any work which will tarnish the state’s reputation,” he said.
Pradhan said he became a Union minister 12 years ago with the blessings of Lord Jagannath and Goddess Samaleswari, the presiding deity of Sambalpur.
His remarks against Patnaik came from a dais that was also attended by BJD MLA and deputy leader in the Odisha Assembly Prasanna Acharya.
“Keeping in view the BJD’s protests, I had consulted Prasanna Bhai whether I should go. Prasanna Babu told me to come and assured me that I would be welcomed. I came here after taking his permission,” Pradhan said.
The 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. I do not understand why he blames Patnaik for the police excesses on agitating students,” Pujari said.
“Why would Patnaik want to defame him? The whole country knows that 21 children died by suicide because of him. Of the 22 lakh students who appeared for the examination, around 21 lakh students must be under depression. Nobody needs to defame him; he has defamed himself,” the BJD leader claimed.
Pujari said it was the BJP government’s “wrong policy” that had brought a bad name to Pradhan.
Meanwhile, sources said Sambalpur police detained around 30 BJD workers as a precautionary measure, anticipating protests by the party’s youth and student wings.
