On July 25, while several celebrities welcomed the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, actors Ranveer Shorey Tara Deshpande stands out for having a perspective that is different from popular opinion. At a time when many public figures have praised the student movement led by the CJP, Sonam Wangchuk and protesters across the country, the two actors raised questions about the circumstances of Pradhan’s exit.Shortly after the resignation became public, Ranveer took to X (formerly Twitter) to react, sharing a GIF and criticizing the government’s handling of the matter. “The Modi government’s swift action has not won over any of its enemies and has disappointed many of its supporters. #masterStrike,” he wrote with a clapping hand emoji.After an X user asked if he thought Pradhan should not resign over the incident NEET Ranveer elaborated on his stance on the paper leak controversy. Referring to the protests organized by the PPP, he said the resignation should have happened earlier and not after continued demonstrations.“Yes, but it should have been done before the streets were hijacked. Now it seems the supporters won’t be heard, but the ‘cockroaches’ on the streets will!”Actor model and former MTV host Tara Deshpande also expressed disappointment at the development. She shared a post by Zoho founder Sridhar Vembu highlighting Pradhan’s contributions while holding public office.“Sad. A minister who has held many portfolios in his long career. He played a leading role in implementing the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana, which expanded LPG connections to millions of low-income households,” part of her tweet read.She went on to acknowledge his work in various ministries, arguing that his achievements went far beyond the controversy surrounding the NEET exam.“He oversaw reforms like PAHAL direct benefit transfer for LPG subsidies and the Hydrocarbon Exploration and Licensing Policy (HELP). He saw the steel industry going through a tough time amid the pandemic. Even in the education sector, if you look at the work he has done beyond the NEET paper leak, you will find it to be solid. His resignation deserves respect.”In contrast, a large part of the film industry has publicly supported the ongoing movement online and on the ground. Actors including Prakash Raj, Shabana Azmi and Hanumankind attended the Delhi protests while Sonakshi SinhaVijay Varma and several others took to social media to express their support. In Mumbai, Gurfateh Pirzada, Pratibha Ranta, Shalini Pandey and others participated in the demonstration.After Pradhan’s resignation, social media was flooded with posts praising the CJP, Sonam Wangchuk and Gen Z protesters for sustaining the movement over alleged irregularities in the NEET exam and the paper leak controversy. including celebrities Kamal Hassan and Chinmayi Sripada He also expressed his views on the development.
