Dharmendra Pradhan
New Delhi: Former Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said on his resignation on Saturday that it was not a matter of personal prestige, and that he had stepped down to stop what he called anti-national forces from exploiting the agitation over examination paper leaks.
He said In a two-page note in Hindi language posted on social media that “So that anti-national forces do not take advantage of the situation that has arisen at Jantar Mantar and across the country, so that the unity of the country remains intact, so that the future of not a single student of India gets entangled in legal complexities, and so that our children invest their time in studying and focus on building their careers—considering all these aspects, I have submitted my resignation to the Honourable Prime Minister.”
Pradhan further said that people holding responsible positions had tried to obstruct and mislead students during the protest. He said, “However, even during this period, individuals holding responsible positions tried to create obstacles in order to mislead many students, which caused me deep anguish.”
Dharmendra Pradhan resigned from the Education Ministry after a protest and resistance of around a month at Jantar Mantar and different parts of India under the banner of Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) against the NEET UG 2026 paper leak. The protest was followed by a hunger strike by activist Sonam Wangchuk.
Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation is the result of the anger of students, Gen Z, and youth against the government and irregularities in the education system.
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During a joint press conference between CJP and the government on Saturday after the resignation of Dharmendra Pradhan, CJP spokesperson Saurav Das said that they have presented a 5-point charter on Educational reform in front of the government, on which both parties will meet again after 4 weeks.
