Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has resigned (Img: Dynamite News)
New Delhi: Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has resigned on Saturday. The decision comes after weeks of Cockroach Janta Party" protests over alleged paper leaks in the NEET and UGC-NET examinations.
BIG BREAKING: Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan resigns#NEETPaperLeak @CJP_for_India @Cockroachisback pic.twitter.com/PEJI67VGMZ
— Dynamite News (@DynamiteNews_) July 25, 2026
Pradhan announced the move on his X handle on Saturday, sharing his resignation letter to the Prime Minister. In it, he said the decision was meant to protect students' interests and keep the ongoing controversy from entangling any of them in legal trouble. He wrote that he did not want "anti-national forces" to exploit the situation at Jantar Mantar and across the country, and that preserving the unity of the nation mattered more than holding on to the post. He also thanked his colleagues in the Council of Ministers and the staff of the Education Ministry, adding that serving the country would remain his highest priority.
— Dharmendra Pradhan (@dpradhanbjp) July 25, 2026
The resignation comes days after the "Sansad Chalo" March by Cockroach Janta Party where police lathi charged and used tear gas on protesters in Delhi. The Resignation came before the third round of talks between CJP delegation and Union Minster JP Nadda and Jitendra Singh. For weeks, the government had resisted calls for Pradhan's resgination.
Beyond his resignation, the protesting students have also been demanding that no criminal cases be filed against demonstrators, and that the families of students who died by suicide following the paper leak scandal receive compensation.
Pradhan is a senior BJP leader from Odisha and one of Modi's longest-serving ministers. He first entered the Union Cabinet in 2014 as Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas with independent charge, a portfolio he held in various capacities until 2021 and is remembered for, in part because of his role in expanding the Ujjwala cooking-gas scheme. He has also served as Steel Minister and as Minister for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship.
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He moved to the Education Ministry on July 7, 2021, during a major Cabinet reshuffle, and was re-inducted into the role after the 2024 general election, when he also returned to the Lok Sabha after fifteen years, winning from Sambalpur in Odisha. During his tenure in education, he was the minister tasked with rolling out the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, along with pushing digital learning platforms and higher education reforms.
Pradhan's predecessor, Ramesh Pokhriyal "Nishank," stepped down as Education Minister on the same day Pradhan was sworn in, citing health reasons. His exit came as part of a broader Cabinet reshuffle that also saw several other ministers moved or dropped. The Education Ministry had been under considerable strain through the COVID-19 pandemic, grappling with school closures, board exam disruptions and a rushed shift to online learning, though the government did not officially attribute Pokhriyal's departure to ministry performance.
Since 2014, Modi has treated Cabinet berths as far from permanent, reshuffling ministries repeatedly to bring in new leadership, reward emerging figures, or respond to shifting political and administrative pressures. Pradhan's resignation fits into that pattern, though it is also notable as one of the more direct concessions the government has made in response to a sustained protest movement.
No successor has been officially named. In the weeks leading up to the resignation, political speculation around a broader Cabinet reshuffle had already begun circulating, with names like Nirmala Sitharaman floated as a possible replacement for the Education portfolio, alongside talk of other ministers such as Manohar Lal Khattar, Ashwini Vaishnaw, Hardeep Singh Puri and Nitin Gadkari being reassigned. None of this has been confirmed by the government, and it remains speculative until an official announcement is made.
Also Read: Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan Resigns; Bows Infront of Gen Z
Given the ministry's role in overseeing the NEP rollout and the country's exam ecosystem — now under intense public scrutiny after the paper leak controversy — Modi's choice of successor is likely to be closely watched by students, educators and the opposition alike.
Whoever succeeds Pradhan will inherit a ministry under pressure to restore public confidence in India's examination system, alongside the ongoing work of implementing NEP 2020. With Parliament's Monsoon Session on going, how this impacts both houses is worth to see.
