New Delhi, August 9: Former Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has said attempts were made to mislead students during the NEET controversy.
Pradhan said this was among the reasons he resigned from the Union Cabinet. He made the remarks at GM University in Bhubaneswar on Saturday.
His comments came two weeks after he resigned from the Education Ministry on July 25. Pradhan addressed students and teachers during his visit to the university.
“Gen G is our children. Some people tried to mislead them,” Pradhan said. He added that he had no personal attachment to his ministerial position.
Pradhan said he met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and offered his resignation. He also spoke about the aspirations of young Indians and India’s future.
He said about two crore children are born in India every year. He added that 20 crore people were born during the past decade.
According to Pradhan, the aspirations of this young population can help India become a global leader.
Pradhan hits back at BJD protests
Pradhan also responded to protests by BJD youth and student wing workers during his Odisha visit.
Protesters at the airport raised slogans asking him to leave Odisha. Pradhan said he would continue returning to the state despite such protests.
He also responded to remarks attributed to former Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. Pradhan said he had never done anything that should bring disrepute to Odisha.
Pradhan asked the audience whether his actions had caused embarrassment to the people of the state. The audience responded negatively.
BJD MLA Prasanna Acharya also attended the event. Pradhan said he had consulted Acharya before visiting the state amid the protests.
Meanwhile, BJD Sambalpur district president Rohit Pujari rejected Pradhan’s allegations. Pujari said the party had not defamed the former minister.
He instead blamed the BJP government for alleged police action against students protesting at Jantar Mantar in Delhi. Pujari questioned Pradhan’s criticism of Naveen Patnaik over the incident.
Separately, police detained around 30 BJD activists as a precautionary measure. The detentions came ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Odisha.
The NEET controversy had triggered student protests and political criticism across the country. Pradhan’s resignation followed the continuing debate over the handling of the controversy.
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