New Delhi, 27 July (H.S.):

Former Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan received a grand welcome from National Democratic Alliance (NDA) MPs at Makar Dwar when he arrived at Parliament on Monday for the first time after resigning from his ministerial post. BJP MP from Darbhanga, Gopalji Thakur, welcomed him by presenting him with a traditional Mithila turban.

Reacting to the welcome, Congress Rajya Sabha member and General Secretary Jairam Ramesh took a jibe on social media, saying that Pradhan was being welcomed as if he had achieved a major milestone. Later, some opposition MPs also met Pradhan inside the Parliament complex. During their interaction, Jairam Ramesh told Pradhan, “This keeps happening.” In response, Pradhan said, “I am a street fighter, not an activist who sits in air-conditioned rooms.”

The Congress criticised the BJP over the welcome extended to Pradhan inside the Parliament premises, calling the entire episode “highly shameful” and an insult to the country’s youth.

According to political analysts, through this welcome, the government aims to convey the message that Pradhan’s resignation was a voluntary decision taken in the interest of students and based on his conscience. The message is also that the Prime Minister did not ask him to step down and that the entire government and party organisation continue to stand firmly with him.

According to the BJP, when Dharmendra Pradhan resigned from the post of Education Minister, several senior leaders, including Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Health Minister J.P. Nadda, BJP President Nitin Nabin, Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office Dr Jitendra Singh, and Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, visited his residence and met him.

It may be noted that Pradhan resigned as Education Minister on July 25. The social media campaign Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) had staged a 36-day protest at Jantar Mantar demanding his resignation over the NEET question paper leak controversy.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar