DMK deputy general secretary and Thoothukudi MP Kanimozhi Karunanidhi on Saturday said that the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the NEET paper leak issue marked the biggest victory achieved through the protest of youth across the country.

Addressing the media in Thoothukudi, she said that the development following the NEET examination paper leaks was a major victory for the youth. She stated that the students had consistently demanded that the Union government accept responsibility and accountability for the NEET paper leak.

“At a time when a false narrative was being continuously spread that no one could stand up to or question the BJP-led Union government, the youth across the country took up a nationwide protest and emerged victorious,” Ms. Kanimozhi added.

She noted that the protesting youth’s next demand was that education should be brought back to the State list. “This is a demand that DMK has consistently raised. If this demand is also successful, we will certainly be happy,” she said.

Ms. Kanimozhi further charged that there has been a continuing pattern of police brutality against those who are taken into custody. “Beyond that, the police are being used to intimidate the opposition party members by registering cases against them,” she said.

She alleged that after this government assumed office, instead of using the police force to curb the crimes against women and children, it has been used against those whom the government considered its political opponents.

Later, she visited the family of Arunachalam, who died days after arrest in Thoothukudi and offered her condolences to the bereaved family.

Published - July 25, 2026 09:23 pm IST