NEW DELHI: In a major political breakthrough following nationwide student-led demonstrations, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has tendered his resignation to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Pradhan announced his decision on his X (formerly Twitter) handle just hours ahead of a crucial third round of talks scheduled between representatives of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) and the Union Government.
Pradhan’s stepping down was the central demand of the thousands of protesters who had been camping at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar for over a month. Negotiations between the CJP and the Centre had reached a stalemate over the issue. On Saturday morning, the CJP firmly stated that further talks were off the table unless the government agreed to remove Dharmendra Pradhan from his post.
With his resignation, the government has yielded to all three core demands put forward by the agitation leaders:
- The immediate resignation of Dharmendra Pradhan
- A guarantee of no legal action against student protesters
- Financial compensation for the families of students who died by suicide following the NEET paper leak controversy
While the Centre had assured agreement on the latter two demands during Friday’s discussions, it had initially remained tight-lipped regarding the Minister’s resignation, before finally giving in to the pressure.
In his resignation statement posted to X, Pradhan wrote:
“I hold deep respect for the aspirations, sentiments, and rightful expectations of the youth of this country. Realising the dreams of India’s young generation has been the moral resolve of our political and social life. I express my gratitude to Hon’ble Prime Minister for the opportunity given to me to serve the nation under his visionary leadership.”
The announcement triggered jubilation at the Jantar Mantar protest site, where crowd members broke into celebrations as news of the resignation reached them.
Responding to the development, the CJP posted on social media: “Long Live Student Power.”
Speaking directly to the crowd from the main stage at Jantar Mantar, CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke declared, “We have done it.”
“They used to say that no one resigns in this government. But we have done it,” Dipke added.
The student movement—which rapidly expanded into dozens of cities across the country over recent weeks—had grown into a formidable political challenge for the government, with Opposition parties throwing their full weight behind the protesting students and cornering the Centre.
