Dharmendra Pradhan resigns as Union Education Minister after weeks of massive upheaval | Today’s news
India’s Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan announced his resignation on Saturday (July 25th) after weeks of youth protests over a series of exam paper leaks.
“I have sent my resignation to Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” BJP leader Dharmendra Pradhan said on Saturday.
Dharmendra Pradhan also admitted the irregularities in the NEET-UG examination conducted on May 3 and added that he never shirked responsibility for the situation. “My resolution was that no deserving student should suffer due to examination mafias and no student should face injustice,” he said.
Read also | Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation LIVE: Dipke seeks compensation for NEET victims
“However, irregularities were found in the NEET-UG examination held on May 3, 2026. The Government of India immediately took cognizance of the matter, handed over the investigation to the CBI, canceled the examination and announced a re-examination date. Along with this, it has been decided that the examination will be conducted in Computer-Based Test (CBT) mode from next year,” he said.
Watch LIVE updates of CJP protest
Pradhan confirms resignation letter sent to PM Modi
Outgoing minister Dharmendra Pradhan announced the move on social media platform X (formerly Twitter), saying he wrote directly to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “I have sent my resignation to the honorable prime minister,” Pradhan said, terming the decision as one taken in the interest of the students and not under duress.
Quick answers to key questions
•5 QUESTIONS
Dharmendra Pradhan resigned after weeks of protests by students demanding accountability for the leak of exam papers, especially regarding the NEET-UG exam.
Citing concerns that the ongoing protests could embroil students in legal issues, he urged them to focus on their studies and careers instead.
The cockroach Janata Party has led long-running protests demanding Pradhan’s resignation as a non-negotiable condition of accountability for the exam paper leaks.
Pradhan’s resignation was framed as a move to protect students from future legal complexities, suggesting an effort to ensure that exams are conducted with integrity.
Pradhan warned that the riots could be misused by anti-national forces and stressed the importance of maintaining national unity and focus on education.
Dharmendra Pradhan’s statement came at a combustible moment. Police in Delhi reportedly used tear gas to disperse young protesters gathered in the capital on Saturday, just hours before protest leaders were due to meet again with government ministers to press their central demand: Pradhan’s departure.
Dharmendra Pradhan cites fear of political exploitation by ‘anti-national forces’
Dharmendra Pradhan said his primary concern was to protect students from being drawn into protracted legal and political tussles. “The future of even a single student in India is not entangled in legal intricacies and that our children invest their time in their studies and focus on building their career – in view of all this, I have submitted my resignation to the honorable Prime Minister,” he said.
Read also | Watch the viral moment when CJP’s Dipke learns about Pradhan’s resignation
He went further and warned that the ongoing unrest risked kidnapping actors working against national interests and urged young Indians to focus on their studies and careers rather than the gridlock in the capital.
A month-long sit-in at the Janata cockroach party in Delhi’s Jantar Mantar
The pressure campaign was led by the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP), a youth group led by Abhijeet Dipek, which camped at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar for over a month, demanding responsibility for the paper leak scandal. Pradhan’s resignation was a non-negotiable condition of the group and it was at this point that talks with the Center repeatedly stalled.
A day before the resignation, the CJP spokesperson held talks with Union ministers JP Nadda and Jitendra Singh, though the talks did not yield a breakthrough. The protests were also overshadowed by a hunger strike by Ladakh-based educationist and activist Sonam Wangchuk, whose presence at the demonstration site lent weight to the students.
Read also | ‘We will share PM Modi’s reels’: CJP reacts to PM’s recording
The NEET-UG paper leak controversy has dogged Dharmendra Pradhan’s tenure.
The MP from Sambalpur emphasized that the government’s priority is to ensure that the interests of more than two million students are protected during the review process.
“During this period, our primary concern was to ensure that the examination of over two million students was conducted smoothly… I took charge of the situation from day one and never turned away from it. It was my resolve that we would not allow the prospects of any deserving student to be damaged due to the examination controversy,” Pradhan said.
