India’s Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has resigned following a sweeping protest movement over irregularities in various national-level examinations and the leak of the medical-admission test paper. He submitted his resignation to the country’s Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, on Saturday.
He announced the resignation in a social-media post on Saturday, a few hours before a third round of talks.
One of the main demands of the students protesting for more than a month at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar, led by the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP), was Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation.
On Saturday morning the Cockroach Janata Party had said clearly that it would take part in no talks unless the government agreed to remove Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
The protesters’ main demands were: the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan; no legal action against the protesting students; and compensation for the families of students who died by suicide over the NEET paper leak.
On Friday the central government had given an assurance that it would accept the last two demands, but had stated no position on the education minister’s resignation.
Announcing his resignation in a message on X, Dharmendra Pradhan said: “I have deep respect for the aspirations, feelings and legitimate expectations of the country’s young people. Realising the dreams of India’s new generation is a moral commitment of our political and social life. I express my gratitude to the honourable prime minister for the opportunity to serve the country under his leadership.”
As soon as news of the resignation broke, protesters at the Jantar Mantar demonstration site erupted in celebration. The movement, which began over the NEET paper leak, has spread to various Indian cities in recent days and has become one of the most talked-about issues in national politics. Support from the country’s opposition parties made the movement stronger still, leaving the government under mounting political pressure.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report