Dehradun: Uttarakhand BJP Chief Mahendra Bhatt has apologized after facing backlash from the Congress and other organizations for making allegedly objectionable remarks against students after Dharmendra Pradhan resigned as Union education minister over the NEET paper leak issue.
In a social media post on Sunday, Bhatt said: “If any words or the way I phrased my statement yesterday inadvertently hurt anyone’s sentiments, I regret and apologize.” He clarified that it was not his intention to hurt anyone’s feelings.
A video of Bhatt surfaced online on Saturday. The Congress alleged that Bhatt had insulted thousands of youths and students who were raising their voices against alleged exam irregularities and demanded an unconditional apology from him.
State Congress president Ganesh Godiyal had said Bhatt’s abusive language made it clear how deeply upset he was over Pradhan’s resignation.
The Congress leader reminded his BJP counterpart that earlier, Premchand Aggarwal had been forced to resign as a minister for using similar abusive language.
“This reflects your attitude towards students and people here. You should apologize before this matter escalates further,” Godiyal had said.
If Bhatt did not apologise, students and youth would stage a protest outside his residence, he said.
In a video shared on Sunday, Bhatt said the opposition was misinterpreting his statement and claimed he had not used the kind of language attributed to him.
BJP state media in-charge Manveer Singh Chauhan backed Bhatt, saying his remarks were being misconstrued.
Recently, a case of alleged question paper leak in Uttarakhand Technical University (UTU) came to light.
The Congress has repeatedly targeted the Pushkar Singh Dhami-led government for alleged irregularities in various recruitment exams.
The state government, however, has stated that it has a zero-tolerance policy against question paper leaks, has implemented a strict anti-cheating law and sent several accused individuals to jail in connection with such cases.
