MUMBAI, July 27 -- Amid mounting outrage over the paper leak controversy and student protests that forced Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on Sunday admitted that Opposition parties had failed to win the confidence of the youth. In an interview with Saamana, Thackeray also expressed disappointment over the functioning of the INDIA bloc, saying, "INDIA bloc has been blocked as of now." Referring to Abhijeet Dipke, who returned from the US and emerged as a prominent face of the student movement, Thackeray said, "The Opposition parties failed to earn the confidence of the youth in the last 12 years. I will not only blame the ruling parties for this. The Opposition is also responsible. The way leaders of the ruling party worked to split Opposition parties shows that personal benefits were given priority. Calling the Gen Z-led agitation a "new lifeline" for democracy, Thackeray said political parties must stand with the youth. Referring to the protesters as the "Cockroach Janata Party", he said the Opposition could not remain silent after the movement's success. "We need to stand by them. Otherwise, the anti-democratic ruling regime will crush them, and then no one will be able to save us," he said. Thackeray said his party, founded by Balasaheb Thackeray and once known as a youth-centric organisation, would continue to champion issues concerning young people. "The youth came onto the streets. Their parents and grandparents joined them. They have come out to save humanity and the country," he said, adding that when citizens unite against injustice, even the most powerful governments cannot withstand them....