Breaking his silence over the nationwide student protests surrounding the NEET-UG paper leak controversy, former Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan stated that vested interest groups had misled the ‘Gen Z’ youth. Speaking at GM University in Bhubaneswar, he clarified that holding a ministerial position was never his priority, and he had personally approached Prime Minister Narendra Modi with his resignation proposal considering the future of the younger generation.

Pradhan also targeted BJD chief Naveen Patnaik regarding local Odisha politics, asserting that ‘Go Back’ slogans would not deter him as he is the son of a farmer. Meanwhile, BJD leader Rohit Pujari hit back, attributing the public outrage against Pradhan to police brutality on students protesting at Jantar Mantar and the mental distress caused to NEET aspirants, which led to tragic suicides. To prevent any unrest during Pradhan’s visit, Sambalpur police preemptively detained around 30 BJD workers.