Victory of students: Celebs after Dharmendra Pradhan resigns as union education minister
Vijay Varma, Vir Das, Swara Bhasker, Varun Grover and many others from the world of showbiz on Saturday hailed the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, calling it a victory for the students who have been relentlessly protesting over the NEET paper leak issue.
Pradhan resigned earlier in the day amid mounting pressure over alleged irregularities in the conduct of several competitive examinations. In his resignation letter, he said he was "disturbed" by the developments of the past 10 days and had submitted his resignation to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Reacting to the minister's resignation, Vijay Varma shared a photograph of Pradhan on social media with the caption, "Accha chalta hoon... duaaon mein yaad rakhna," quoting the popular song "Channa Mereya" from "Ae Dil Hai Mushkil".
Comedian-writer Grover congratulated the students and activists who led the movement.
"Congratulations India. The seriousness of @Cockroachisback, @SauravDassss, @abhijeet_dipke, @neha_aisa, Aameen, Manish, and the unhinged non-seriousness of the Gen Z memes has made the kings blink today," he wrote.
The protests, spearheaded by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), began at Jantar Mantar on June 20 over alleged paper leaks and irregularities in the examination system, including NEET. The demonstrations later spread to several cities, with protesters demanding Pradhan's resignation and greater accountability in the education sector.
The agitation intensified earlier this week after police used batons, tear gas and water cannons to disperse students marching towards Parliament in New Delhi. The crackdown drew widespread criticism and prompted several actors and filmmakers to publicly back the protesters.
Vir Das shared a photograph with the caption "Friends" and followed it up with a message applauding the students.
"You restored a single word of a tiny little sentence of that book we all read in school and forgot. You beautiful kids. Whatever the hell happens from here, you won. Now hurry up and celebrate," he wrote.
Actor Abhishek Banerjee changed his display picture on social media and posted, "DP CHANGE HO GAYI!! A big congratulations to GEN-Z. Also a big reminder that United we stand, divided we fall!!"
Actor Saba Azad posted, "Chaatr ekta zindabad!!!" while Swara Bhasker described the development as a "Huge victory for students."
Actor Parvathy Thiruvothu shared a screenshot of Pradhan's resignation letter and wrote, "Resigned!!!!"
Actors Sonakshi Sinha, filmmaker Vikramaditya Motwane and Twinkle Khanna also shared posts on social media celebrating Pradhan's resignation.
