New Delhi, Aug 9 (PTI): The Opposition on Sunday lashed out at former education minister Dharmendra Pradhan for his remark that attempts were made to “mislead” Gen Z during the protests over the NEET paper leak issue, saying the students were raising valid concerns and that it is actually the BJP that has a “habit” of misleading people.
Senior BJP leader and Sambalpur MP Pradhan claimed that efforts were made to mislead Gen Z during the protests, which led to his resignation as Union education minister.
Reacting to Pradhan’s remarks, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge told PTI Videos in Rudrapur, “It is unclear whether he had the ambition to remain a minister or was instructed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi or Home Minister Amit Shah. What students recognise is that he was responsible since he held that position.”
Kharge added, “The home minister has the CBI, the Intelligence Bureau, and all the agencies at his disposal, so he should investigate the matter.”
Aam Aadmi Party’s Sanjay Singh also criticised Pradhan for his comments, stating, “Did the paper leak occur or not? Twenty-one students have lost their lives. There is no question of students being misled.”
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Arvind Sawant claimed that misleading people is the BJP’s tactic.
“The Bharatiya Janata Party was born with the practice of misleading people. Look at the 2G and 3G cases. Allegations were made against A Raja, Kanimozhi, and Dayanidhi Maran while targeting former prime minister Manmohan Singh. The image of a corrupt Congress government was created, but that too was misleading. The children did not mislead anyone; they spoke the truth and showed you (BJP) a mirror,” Savant said.
He claimed that the people of India are increasingly realising that “BJP means lies.”
Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut also hit out at Pradhan and stated that Gen Z’s reactions were provoked by how Pradhan managed education issues, including the paper leaks.
“He (Pradhan) should sit together with Prime Minister Modi, Nitin Nabin and RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat and decide whether Gen Z was misled or provoked. If Gen Z was misled, then who misled them? And if they were provoked, then who provoked them? These are the questions that need to be answered,” he said.
Noting that Pradhan’s comments could have been avoided, RJD MP Manoj Jha said that every generation feels the next has been misled, but this is not true; the younger generation has legitimate concerns.
“An education system has developed in which future possibilities have been exhausted. This is not just about one government but the entire system,” he said.
Jha stated that it is inappropriate for one generation to claim that the next has been misled.
Pradhan finally addressed the matter of his resignation while speaking to students and teachers at GM University here on Saturday, exactly two weeks after he stepped down amid massive protests at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar over the issue.
“Gen Z is our children. Some people attempted to mislead them. I had no personal issues then. Every year, at least two crore children are born in India. Over the last ten years, 20 crore children have been born. They have aspirations, and they will lead India to become a ‘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 on 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 the protests by BJD workers and slogans asking him to “go back”.
