Indore : Madhya Pradesh Minister Kailash Vijayvargiya on Saturday praised Dharmendra Pradhan following his resignation as Union Education Minister, saying he stepped down immediately after the party took the decision and describing it as the hallmark of a good party worker.
"I must praise Dharmendra Pradhan. He does whatever he's assigned with utmost honesty and dedication. From the very first day of the movement, he told the party president, 'If you feel that I should resign, I would.' But when circumstances became such that the party decided Dharmendra Pradhan should resign, he did so in a split second. This is the hallmark of a good party worker," Vijayvargiya told reporters in Indore.
Vijayvargiya questioned the Congress's role in the protest, saying the students were protesting and that the Congress had stood behind them. He also said the opposition, after the West Bengal elections, had "seen a ray of hope in the Cockroach Janata Party." He further said that Pradhan's resignation had "ended the plans of all those foreign forces who wanted to incite violence in the country."
Congress leader TS Singh Deo, speaking in Raipur, said Pradhan had become "a symbol of systemic mismanagement" in the NEET examination and alleged that there was no expression of condolence from the government, no discussion on improving the system, no action against NTA members and no move to dissolve the NTA despite the deaths of students.
"The rot that has crept into our entire system, something was needed to fix it. Dharmendra Pradhan's removal is a powerful first step towards reforming the entire system," Singh Deo said. Meanwhile, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said the BJP considers the country, youth and students more important than any position.
In a post on X, Shah said, "For BJP workers, the country, our youth, and students are far more important than any position. Today, the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan from his post exemplifies this very principle."
"The Modi government respects the sentiments of the country's youth and is committed to implementing the necessary reforms against paper leaks. The decisions taken by Modi ji to ensure strict punishment for those guilty of paper leaks are commendable. I am fully confident that these steps will ensure complete justice for the students who succeeded in the NEET examination," he added.