Opposition react to Pradhan’s exit

NEW DELHI: Following Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation, opposition parties Saturday said this marked a victory of democracy and said Modi govt had to “bow before the collective struggle” of the country’s youth.Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav said the youth compelled BJP to bow before their pressure, and also started the countdown to its “ouster from power”. “The issue is not limited to one minister or one exam, but reflects a larger breakdown of trust among job aspirants who spend years preparing for competitive exams,” he said, calling for strict accountability.NCP-SP chief Sharad Pawar said the resignation was a major victory for youth power.

Earlier this week, he met the protesting youths at Jantar Mantar in Delhi. He also met PM Modi a day after.“I personally met the PM and told him that dialogue was essential in democracy. If dialogue does not take place, it leads to adverse consequences. I urged the PM to depute senior colleagues to hold talks. I had also told protesters that they should go ahead with talks if govt shows willingness to discuss their demands,” Pawar said. “Couple of rounds of talks took place. Some of the demands of youths were accepted, they were pressing for the minister’s resignation,” he said.TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee said, “People in power must realise that power of the people is greater than any office or authority. One can love their country deeply without having to love govt of the day.”While Sena UBT president Uddhav Thackeray said, “A single cockroach made a dictator bow down”, MNS chief Raj Thackeray said, “Gen Z has uprooted govt’s hair. And brought it down to earth.”The development has restored people’s faith in democracy by proving that govts must ultimately listen to people’s voice, AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal said.