Former India wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik took to social media on Saturday afternoon to share a message for the youth of the country. His remark came shortly after Dharmendra Pradhan resigned as the Education Minister amid rising protests throughout the country. On Saturday, Pradhan submitted his resignation to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, following weeks of nationwide student protests over alleged paper leaks.
Taking to X, Karthik, who is also the batting coach and mentor for the Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the IPL, shared a post, which read, “At the end of the day, we’re all working towards a better India. The clarity, collaboration and relentlessness of the younger generation is something that I’m extremely in awe of. The future is bright, and the next generation is going to take us to new heights. Jai Hind.”
He captioned the post as, “The next decade is India’s.”
The student protests have been going on in full swing in Delhi’s Jantar Mantar, and they have been spearheaded by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP). The protests gained all the more prominence when educator and activist Sonam Wangchuk joined the hunger strike that lasted 26 days.
All you need to know about Pradhan’s resignation
For almost a month, the students, along with the CJP, were asking for Pradhan’s resignation over the alleged NEET paper leaks. The voice was constantly growing for reforms in India’s education system. On July 20, the protesters had marched from Jantar Mantar towards Parliament but were stopped by police forces who resorted to lathi charge and tear gas to disperse the crowd.
A few days later, Prime Minister Narendra Modi appealed to the students, assuring everyone that all those accused in the NEET paper leak case had been arrested and that fast-track courts would also be set up to ensure a speedy trial.
On Friday, CJP had also met the government officials to put forward their demands. On Saturday, finally, Pradhan resigned and took to X. He wrote, “The youth power of India is the real strength of this country. We will not let the youth power of the country get trapped in a vicious cycle of illusion; this is my resolve Anti-national forces should not take advantage of the situation that has arisen at Jantar Mantar and in the country, the unity of the country should be maintained, the future of not even a single student of India should get entangled in legal complexities, and our children should spend their time studying and focusing on building their careers. Considering all these things, I have sent my resignation letter to the Honorable Prime Minister.”