Indian Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan Resigns Amid Protests

In a post on his official X (formerly Twitter) account, Dharmendra Pradhan stated that he had sent his resignation letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He wrote that he holds deep respect for the aspirations and legitimate expectations of the nation's youth, while expressing his gratitude to the Prime Minister for the opportunity to serve the country.

Nationwide protests had been ongoing for weeks surrounding allegations of question paper leaks in the NEET examinations. A key demand of the demonstrators was the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. Additionally, the protesters demanded that no legal action be taken against participating students and that financial compensation be provided to the families of students who committed suicide in connection with the paper leak controversy.

On Saturday morning, ahead of the scheduled third round of talks with the central government, the protesting organization Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) made it clear that they would not participate in discussions unless the Education Minister was removed.

Earlier on Friday, while the government offered positive assurances regarding non-prosecution of students and financial compensation, it remained non-committal on the Education Minister's resignation. However, following Pradhan's resignation announcement on Saturday, all three primary demands of the protesters are considered effectively met.

As news of the Education Minister's resignation spread, protesting students staging a sit-in at Delhi's Jantar Mantar broke into celebration. They marked the moment with victory marches and energetic slogans, hailing the development as a major triumph for the student movement.

The movement, which originated from the NEET paper leak controversy, has evolved into one of India’s most prominent political issues in recent times, with support from opposition political parties adding further momentum to the cause.