Bengaluru, 25 July (H.S.): Former Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Saturday described Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation as a victory for the country's awakened students and youth, saying it reflected the strength of democratic protest and constitutional values.
In a post on X, Siddaramaiah congratulated students, youth and all those who had participated in the nationwide agitation, calling the resignation a significant moral victory. He said lakhs of students had inspired the nation by staging peaceful protests in New Delhi despite facing harsh weather, hunger, health challenges and police action. According to him, the movement demonstrated that determined and non-violent public resistance could compel those in power to respond.
The senior Congress leader also praised Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi, saying he had provided timely and decisive leadership to the protests. He added that the Congress had fulfilled its responsibility as a constructive Opposition by standing firmly with students and supporting their demands.
However, Siddaramaiah said the resignation of the Education Minister alone would not resolve the deeper problems affecting the country's education system. He alleged that the present Union government had weakened democratic institutions and commercialised education, arguing that meaningful reforms would not be possible unless there was a broader political change at the Centre. He urged students and young people to continue their struggle until what he described as an 'inefficient and corrupt' government was removed from power, while assuring them that the Congress would continue to stand with them in defence of democracy and the Constitution.
Reacting to the development, Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president B.K. Hariprasad also welcomed Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation. He criticised the former minister for highlighting his achievements in a lengthy resignation letter and contrasted his tenure with that of India's first Education Minister, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad.
Hariprasad said Azad had played a transformative role in strengthening India's higher education institutions, including Visva-Bharati, Banaras Hindu University, Aligarh Muslim University and Jawaharlal Nehru University. He alleged that Dharmendra Pradhan's tenure had marked a decline in the country's education system and called his appointment as Education Minister unfortunate.
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Hindusthan Samachar / Arun Lakshman
