What Dharmendra Pradhan wrote in his resignation letter

Amid widespread student protests across India over allegations of irregularities in the NEET-UG medical entrance exam, Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan submitted his resignation to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday. The protests had been led largely by a youth-led movement called the 'Cockroach Janata Party' (CJP), which had been demonstrating at Delhi's Jantar Mantar for several weeks demanding his resignation .

Here is the full text of Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation letter:

My young friends,

For more than the past four decades, I have been dedicated to students, teachers, and education reform. I have always believed that only a strong, inclusive, and far-sighted education system is the foundation of a strong nation.

I deeply respect the aspirations, feelings, and just expectations of the country’s youth. Realizing the dreams of India’s young generation has been the moral resolve of all our political and social lives. I express my gratitude to the honorable Prime Minister for the opportunity I received to serve the nation under his visionary leadership.

However, an irregularity came to light and was found in the NEET-UG examination held on 3 May 2026. Taking immediate cognizance of this, the Government of India handed over the investigation to the CBI, cancelled the examination, and a date for the re-examination was announced. Along with this, it was decided that from next year this examination would be conducted in CBT (Computer-based-test) mode.

During this period, our main priority was that the examination of more than 20 lakh students be conducted smoothly. For this, work was done under a whole of government approach. In this, along with the Government of India, the state government—especially the district administration—played an important role. Additionally, with the cooperation of students, guardians, and parents, this examination was completed on 21 June 2026.

From the very first day, I took responsibility for this and never turned my face away from the situation. My resolve was that we would not let any meritorious student’s prospects be ruined because of the exam mafia, and that we would not allow injustice to be done to any student.

The NEET-UG results declared on 16 July were satisfactory, in which many meritorious students from poor backgrounds also found success.

But even during this period, individuals sitting in positions of responsibility tried to create obstacles in order to mislead many students, which caused my heart deep anguish.

I have always been one who holds unshakeable faith in the power of our democracy, and I have always deeply respected the aspirations, dreams, and expectations of the youth. They are not only the future of India, but also the bearers, builders, and architects of the future of a new and developed India.

Watching the sequence of events of the past 10 days, my heart is saddened. This is not a matter of personal prestige for me.

The youth-power of India is the real strength of this country.

We will not let the country’s youth-power get trapped in the vicious cycle of delusion—this is my resolve.

So that anti-national forces may not take advantage of the situation that has arisen at Jantar-Mantar and in the country; so that the unity of the country remains intact; so that the future of not even a single student of India gets entangled in legal complications; so that our children devote their time to studies and focus on building their careers—considering this very matter, I have sent my resignation to the honorable Prime Minister.

I express my heartfelt gratitude to the honorable Prime Minister for his guidance, trust, and continuous support. At the same time, I also express my gratitude to all my esteemed colleagues in the Council of Ministers, the officers and staff of the ministry, and all those individuals with whom I had the good fortune of working. Service to the nation is the highest priority of my life. I will always remain dedicated to it.

With the blessings of Lord Shri Jagannath, in the future too I will keep myself dedicated in every possible way to fulfilling the aspirations of Mother India, the people of Odisha, and the youth of the country.

Yours,

Dharmendra Pradhan