Speaking on his resignation for the first time, former Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said Gen Z was misled during the protests over the NEET paper leak controversy.Speaking at a felicitation ceremony for Padma awardees in his Lok Sabha constituency Sambalpur, Pradhan said he had met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and sought his permission to acknowledge the aspirations of the students. In a lighter vein, Pradhan said he was a victim of Gen Z’s resolve.“Gen Z belongs to us. The way this whole episode unfolded, I felt some people tried to mislead the children of the new generation. If 20 crore youngsters become determined about something, my responsibility is nothing but their resolve. I met the Prime Minister in this regard and he himself addressed the youth. I never staked my personal honour in the matter,” he said.In his resignation letter to PM Modi, Pradhan highlighted his long-standing association with the education sector and reaffirmed his commitment to the aspirations of India’s youth.He also said in the letter that he was stepping down in the larger interests of students to ensure that the country’s youth did not become “trapped in a web of confusion”.Last week, after laying the foundation stone for Kendriya Vidyalaya at Rairakhol in Odisha, Pradhan said education was the key to progress and a strong educational foundation could drive the overall development of the region. The visit was Pradhan’s first to the constituency after his resignation as Union Education Minister last month.