Sharad Pawar says PM may have heeded his advice to hold talks with protesting youth

Veteran politician and Rajya Sabha MP Sharad Pawar said on Saturday (July 25, 2026) said that his advice to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to hold talks with the protesting youth “may have been taken note of,” adding that democracy in the country is witnessing a revival.

Mr. Pawar, who heads a faction of the Nationalist Congress Party, was talking to reporters in Pune after the Union government accepted the Cockroach Janta Party’s demands, including the resignation of Dharmendra Pradhan as Union Education Minister.

The government should not have used lathi charges and tear gas against the protesting students, Mr. Pawar said.. “In response to the insistent demand of the protesters, the Union Education Minister has finally resigned today. This fight, which was firmly against oppression without fear and forced the government to accept moral responsibility against injustice, is a symbol of the power of democracy. This is a major victory for the unity of the youth power in the country,” he added.

Protest rally turns celebration

In Mumbai, the Thackeray cousins Uddhav and Raj congratulated the protesting youth and said that they had rid the country of fear.

Shiv Sena UBT chief Uddhav Thackeray and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray will continue plans to hold a joint rally on Sunday morning, named the ‘Tiranga March’. They had earlier appealed to all the protesting youth and their parents in Mumbai to join the rally to raise their voices against the government. But after the CJP withdrew its protest, the Thackerays said that the rally would now be held to celebrate the victory of the youth.

The protests have shown that “dictatorship cannot be imposed on the country,” Mr. Uddhav Thackeray said, addressing a joint press conference with his cousin.

‘Cockroach has made a dictator bow’

“The youth have brought the country out of an atmosphere of fear. A cockroach has made a dictator bow. Those who addressed the youth as cockroaches should not behave in an arrogant manner,” he added.

Mr. Raj Thackeray said that the Education Minister should have resigned earlier. He also commended the Mumbai police for “not behaving like Delhi Police.” Several videos which have gone viral on social media show the Mumbai police cooperating with the protesting youth and directing them.

Mr. Uddhav Thackeray asked Union Home Minister Amit Shah why pellet guns, water cannons, and nail-embedded sticks were used against the protesting students. “Youth were baton-charged, women were assaulted... goons were made to infiltrate,” he claimed.

Both the leaders appealed to Mumbaikars to join them in Shivaji Park at 10 a.m. on Sunday.