India
oi-Gaurav Sharma
Students were ‘misled’, said, Former Education Minister and senior BJP leader Dharmendra Pradhan, who stepped down from his post due to students’ pressure, has now backed Gen Z. Breaking his silence, Dharmendra Pradhan said it was never about ministerial post, in fact, he had himself approached PM Modi to resign, when students were protesting.
Dharmendra Pradhan, who was a chief guest at GM University in Bhubaneswar, was addressing students and teachers, when he made these remarks.
Former Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan stated students were misled and confirmed he voluntarily approached PM Modi to resign amid protests, later criticizing Naveen Patnaik and defending his actions regarding Odisha.
“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 a ‘Vishwa Guru’. The post was not important to me,” Pradhan said.
At another event in Rairakhol, Dharmendra Pradhan targeted former Odisha CM and BJD chief Naveen Patnaik. Dharmendra Pradhan said BJP workers and youth wing misbehaved with him and showed him black flags near the airport. They were also shouting slogans of “Go Back”. To which, he replied, “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.
