# Dharmendra Pradhan says Gen Z ‘misled’ in NEET protests, quit as minister

2026-08-08T20:22:58+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk

Corroboration: 1 independent outlet

Former Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has said attempts to "mislead" Gen Z during the NEET paper leak protests prompted his resignation on July 25. Speaking at GM University in Sambalpur, Pradhan said the ministerial post was not important to him and that he approached Prime Minister Narendra Modi to offer his resignation. Pradhan also hit out at BJD chief Naveen Patnaik for allegedly engaging youths in protests against him. BJD leader Rohit Pujari countered that Pradhan brought criticism on himself through police excesses on agitating students and that 21 children died by suicide over the issue. Police later detained about 30 BJD workers in Sambalpur as a precaution, The New Indian Express reports.

## Coverage

- economictimes.indiatimes.com <https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/dharmendra-pradhan-says-he-quit-after-attempts-made-to-mislead-gen-z-during-neet-protests/articleshow/133057946.cms>
- timesnownews.com <https://www.timesnownews.com/india/dharmendra-pradhan-days-after-resigning-as-education-minister-shares-personal-experience-with-gen-z-article-155387710>
- newindianexpress.com <https://www.newindianexpress.com/india/2026/Aug/08/attempts-to-mislead-gen-z-during-neet-protests-led-to-my-resignation-says-dharmendra-pradhan>

Tags: Dharmendra Pradhan, education, Gen Z, NEET, student protests
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