At the protest venue, Anna Hazare broke down while looking at posters made by students highlighting their demands. (File photo)Activist Anna Hazare, who observed a silent protest in support of the students’ agitation in Ahilyanagar on Thursday, backed the demand for Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation, saying, “He should resign.”Hazare’s remarks came after students protesting the NEET paper leak case demanded action against those responsible and sought Pradhan’s resignation. The protests witnessed clashes, with several protesters injured during police action. Police have registered FIRs against unidentified persons in connection with incidents of violence under sections related to rioting and damage to public property.At the protest venue, Hazare broke down while looking at posters made by students highlighting their demands. Videos of the moment were widely shared on social media.Must Read | Anna Hazare writes to PM Narendra Modi, says Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation will not cause the government to fallHazare had planned to observe a two-hour silent protest in the Shirdi area but left the venue a little over an hour later due to health concerns. He did not speak to reporters at the site.Later in the evening, Hazare interacted with reporters at Ralegan Siddhi, where he said he did not support violence or police action against protesters.The activist, who led the civil society movement India Against Corruption (IAC) in 2011, had emerged as a prominent face of anti-corruption protests that drew large crowds across the country. The movement, which sought accountability from the government, has often been compared with the current student agitation.Responding to a question on the letter he wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday, Hazare said he had stressed that the students’ concerns should be addressed through non-violent means.Story continues below this adAlso Read | ‘A minister’s resignation won’t bring down the government’: Anna Hazare to PM Modi“I don’t support violence or lathi-charge. All the issues of the students should be resolved through discussion and dialogue,” he said.Hazare said he had also held 22 hunger strikes over various demands but had never resorted to violence during his protests.He appealed to students to avoid taking to the streets.“Even at 90 years of age today, I strongly believe that any issue can be solved through discussions and not through violence,” he added.Story continues below this adA day earlier, Hazare had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging him to resolve the students’ agitation through dialogue. In the letter, he had also said that Pradhan’s resignation would not bring down the government.