While many celebrities welcomed the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on July 25, actors Ranveer Shorey and Tara Deshpande emerged with an opinion different from the popular opinion.
While many public figures praised the student movement led by the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP), Sonam Wangchuk and protesters across the country, the two actors questioned the circumstances surrounding Pradhan’s exit.Reacting on X (formerly Twitter), Ranveer shared a GIF soon after the resignation announcement and criticized the government’s handling of the situation. “In one quick move, the Modi government was able to defeat any of its enemies, and frustrated many of its supporters.
#NiceHit,” he wrote along with applause emojis.
After an X user asked if he thought Pradhan should not resign over the NEET papers leak controversy, Ranveer clarified his stand. Referring to the protests organized by the Justice and Development Party, he said that the resignation should have occurred early and not after continuous demonstrations.“Yes, but we should have done it before the streets became hostage. Now it seems that the supporters will not be heard, but the ‘cockroaches’ in the streets will be heard!”
Model actor and former MTV VJ Tara Deshpande also expressed his disappointment about the development.
Sharing a post by Zoho founder Sridhar Vembu, she highlighted Pradhan’s contributions during his years in public office.A portion of her tweet read: “Sad. A Minister who has served multiple portfolios over a long career. He played a pioneering role in implementing the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana, which expanded LPG connections to millions of low-income households.”
It continued to recognize his work across multiple ministries, arguing that his achievements extended beyond the controversy surrounding the NEET exam.“He oversaw reforms like conversion of direct PAHAL benefits to LPG subsidy and Hydrocarbon Exploration and Licensing Policy (HELP). He has seen the steel industry through the tough times in the pandemic. Even in education, if you look at the work he has done beyond NEET paper leaks, he has been solid. His resignation should be respected,” he said.In contrast, a large section of the film industry has publicly supported the ongoing movement, both online and on the ground. Actors including Prakash Raj, Shabana Azmi and Hanumankind were present at the Delhi protests, while Sonakshi Sinha, Vijay Varma and several others expressed their support on social media.
In Mumbai, Gurvati Pirzada, Pratibha Ranta, Shalini Pandey and many others joined the demonstrations.After Pradhan’s resignation, social media was filled with posts praising the CJP, Sonam Wangchuk and Generation Z protesters for supporting the movement over alleged irregularities in the NEET exam and the paper leakage controversy. Celebrities including
Kamal Hassan
and
Chinmayi Sripada
They were among those who also shared their views on the developments.
