Amid widespread calls for the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, multiple reports have emerged claiming that the BJP leader once protested against a paper leak in Odisha.
According to a report he published New Indian ExpressPradhan’s former associates recall a 1997 protest outside the Odisha secretariat over alleged paper leakage. Follow live updates on CJP protest
The aide, identified as Dr Prasant Kumar Rout, principal, RMD Degree College, Bhubaneswar, first spoke to TNIE after Pradhan took over as Education Minister in 2021.
Rout, who was Pradhan’s student in college, stated that the protest happened at a time when he intended to join the BJP. Pradhan was already holding the post of national secretary of the RSS’s student wing – Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP).
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“We staged a protest against the Odisha government in front of the Secretariat. Around 1,500 students joined us there,” Root said, adding that though the protest was peaceful, the protesters faced police brutality.
“We were very afraid. Pradhan was badly beaten at that time. He had some fractures as well,” he said.
Despite the violence, Pradhan continued to fight the paper leak, making him one of the most prominent student leaders in the state, the colleague added.
HT was unable to independently verify the report.
Turn of the tide
Nearly 30 years later, Dharmendra Pradhan is now at the other end of the spectrum. Since the leak of the NEET UG paper, the Education Minister has continued to face calls to resign.
In a large protest led by Sarsour Janta Party, thousands of supporters and demonstrators called for his resignation from office.
Moreover, opposition parties like Congress, Aam Aadmi Party, NCP-SP, Shiv Sena (UBT) and several others also expressed their support for the protesting students and called on Pradhan to step down.
As the CJP protests continued, the online group issued a call for a nationwide peaceful protest. Over the past few days, people from all over India have been marching in protest, demanding accountability from the Centre.
