Takes onus for NEET-UG crisis, urges youth to stay focused on careers
NEW DELHI, July 25 (The CONNECT): Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan resigned on Saturday amid sustained nationwide student protests over the NEET-UG controversy, marking a significant political fallout of the agitation spearheaded by the youth-led Cockroach Janta Party (CJP).
Pradhan announced his decision through a two-page Hindi note posted on X, saying he had sent his resignation to Prime Minister Narendra Modi after being deeply distressed by developments over the past 10 days. His exit came after protesters at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar and elsewhere had made his resignation one of their central demands
The protests followed alleged irregularities in the NEET-UG examination held on May 3. The government subsequently handed the investigation to the CBI, cancelled the examination and announced a fresh test, which was conducted on June 21. More than 20 lakh candidates were involved in the exercise. Results of the re-examination were declared on July 16.
In his resignation note, Pradhan said he had accepted responsibility for handling the crisis from the beginning and had never sought to evade it.
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Cockroach Janata Party posted on social media: “Cockroaches won. Democracy won!”
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He said his priority was to ensure that the prospects of meritorious students were not damaged by what he described as the “exam mafia” and that no student suffered injustice.
Pradhan said the successful conduct of the fresh examination required a “whole of government approach”, involving the Centre, state governments and particularly district administrations, besides cooperation from students and parents.
Referring to the agitation, Pradhan said he had always had “unwavering faith” in the strength of democracy and deeply respected the aspirations, dreams and expectations of India’s youth.
“India’s youth power is the real strength of this country,” he said in the note, adding that young people were not merely India’s future but the builders of a new and developed nation.
Pradhan, however, expressed anguish over what he described as attempts by people occupying responsible positions to mislead students.
He said he did not want “anti-national forces” to benefit from the situation or the country’s unity to be affected. Students, he said, should not allow their future to become entangled in legal complexities and should concentrate on studies and building their careers.
The resignation represents a breakthrough for the CJP-led agitation, which had kept up pressure on the government through protests at Jantar Mantar and a wider youth mobilisation. Opposition parties had also joined the demand for Pradhan’s removal. As recently as Friday, government sources had indicated that his resignation was not under consideration
CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke hailed the resignation after the announcement, attributing it to sustained public and student pressure. Celebrations broke out among protesters at Jantar Mantar.
Pradhan thanked Modi for his guidance and support and said he would continue to dedicate himself to the country and to fulfilling the aspirations of India’s youth.
