India's Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan resigns

India's Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has resigned. He submitted his resignation letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday, reported The Indian Express .

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), he wrote, "I have taken responsibility from the very beginning and never shied away from the situation. My resolve was that no meritorious student's future should be ruined due to the exam mafia, and no student should be treated unjustly."

Protests demanding the education minister's resignation have been taking place across India for the past several days over allegations of question paper leaks in the medical entrance exam NEET-UG. The agitation has been largely led by a satirical political movement called the 'Cockroach Janata Party' (CJP), which has gained significant popularity among the younger generation. The movement was born in May this year following a comment by India's Chief Justice Surya Kant, who was criticised for allegedly referring to unemployed youths as "cockroaches."

Angered by the NEET question paper leak and irregularities in the CBSE board's evaluation and re-evaluation process, students had been protesting at Delhi's Jantar Mantar for the past several weeks. Following a police crackdown on July 20, the agitation intensified; police used lathi-charges and tear gas on protesters attempting to march towards Parliament, injuring over 150 people. In response, Prime Minister Modi announced the formation of fast-track courts to ensure swift and strict punishment for those involved in the leak. However, protesters led by CJP founder Abhijit Dipak remained steadfast in their demand for the education minister's resignation.

Environmental and education activist Sonam Wangchuk, who had been on a 25-day hunger strike in support of the movement, ended his fast on Thursday night after the government assured that no action would be taken against the protesting students. Following this, a round of talks was held between the government and the CJP on Friday, but no resolution was reached on the demand for the education minister's resignation. In this context, Dharmendra Pradhan resigned on Saturday.