ANGUL: A pall of gloom descended over Talcher, the hometown of Dharmendra Pradhan, following his resignation as Union Education Minister amid the CJP agitation over the NEET paper leak
Cutting across party lines, residents expressed shock over Pradhan’s resignation. Widely regarded as Talcher’s pride and one of Odisha’s most prominent faces in national politics, his exit from the Union Council of Ministers came as a surprise to many.
State BJP secretary Kalandi Samal said Pradhan contributed significantly to the development of both Talcher and Odisha. “Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he will continue to work for the development of Talcher, particularly for the student community. He resigned to prevent the Opposition from gaining political mileage from the issue. As Union Petroleum Minister, his implementation of the Ujjwala scheme was widely appreciated,” Samal said.
Congress leader Keshab Bhutia, however, welcomed the development. In a statement, he said Pradhan’s resignation had restored faith in democracy and proved that students’ voices mattered.
S S Pattnaik, a resident of Talcher, said he was deeply shocked by the resignation. “Pradhan has done a lot for Talcher and for Odisha. I hope the Prime Minister will entrust him with an important responsibility in the future,” he said.
Local BJD MLA from Talcher and Angul district party president Braja Kishore Pradhan declined to comment on Pradhan’s resignation.