Pradhan said he became a Union minister 12 years ago with the blessings of Lord Jagannath and Goddess Samaleswari, the presiding deity of Sambalpur. The BJD's Sambalpur district president and former minister Rohit Pujari hit back at Pradhan, saying the BJP leader had been criticised over the handling of the student protests. Of the 22 lakh students who appeared for the examination, around 21 lakh students must be under depression. Nobody needs to defame him; he has defamed himself," the BJD leader claimed. Pujari said it was the BJP government's "wrong policy" that had brought a bad name to Pradhan.