‘Gen Z belongs to us,, said former Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, addressing a gathering in his parliamentary constituency, Sambalpur, on Saturday. In what is being called as his first public statement following the resignation, Pradhan said, “I belong to the land where legends like Bhimabhoi, Utkalmani Gopabandhu Das and Gangadhar Meher were born. My responsibility is nothing before the resolve of the new generation people. There is nothing more important than the country’s interest.”
Appreciating the aspirations of the new generation , Pradhan underscoring that the government is committed to fulfilling their aspirantions said, ” the Gen Z belongs to us …Some people tried to deceive the Gen Z. Around 20 crore (people of) new generation in the country have a great responsibility on their shoulders to make India the Viswaguru.”
Citing the sacrifices made by noted freedom fighters such as Veer Surendra Sai and others, the former minister said historically, it is the youth who led the change and offered sacrifices.Pradhan while travelling from Bhubaneswar to his constituency by road received a warm welcome on Saturday. BJP sources revealed that he would be touring across Odisha in the coming days.
Pradhan is among the prominent figures of the Bharatiya Janata Party hailing from Odisha Ever since the NDA came to power in 2014. Dharmendra Pradhan, in the eye of the storm over the NEET-UG exam paper leak, which sparked widespread protests, resigned as the Education Minister on July 25. Releasing an open letter announcing his resignation in a post on X, Pradhan said he was saddened by what had unfolded over the past 10 days and decided to quit his post.
His resignation was the primary demand made by the protesters of the Cockroach Janata Party protesting at the Jantar Mantar in Delhi, as well as a precondition for the Congress and the other opposition parties for debating a tough new law against the issue scheduled to be tabled in the Parliament.