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‘Not a matter of personal prestige’: Dharmendra Pradhan quits over paper leaks
The resignation comes in the wake of ongoing protest against paper leaks and other irregularities in the conduct of examinations
Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan resigned on Saturday after massive street protests in Delhi and elsewhere demanded his exit over a string of exam paper leaks, saying it wasn’t a matter of personal prestige for him.
In a statement on X, Pradhan said he had taken responsibility for the NEET paper leak from day one and resolved that they would neither let the future of meritorious students be ruined by the exam mafia nor allow injustice to any student
“Considering that anti-national forces should not take advantage of the situation that has arisen at Jantar Mantar and across the country, that the unity of the nation remains intact, that the future of even a single student in India does not get entangled in legal complexities, and that our children invest their time in studying and focus on building their careers—considering all of this, I have sent my resignation to the Honorable Prime Minister,” he said in two-page letter in Hindi.
Pradhan’s announcement came more than a month after the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) launched a sit-in at Jantar Mantar on June 6 demanding Pradhan’s resignation over repeated question paper leaks.
Abhijeet Dipke, who founded the CJP, announced Pradhan’s resignation to the thousands of people gathered at Jantar Mantar. “This is a big win. It shows that the country is run by the Constitution…. This is just the beginning,” Dipke said to loud cheers from the protesters.
The CJP said they would wait for the government to get back on its other demands: ₹1 crore to the families of the NEET aspirants who died by suicide, action against police personnel who brutally attacked protesters and a public apology from the Rapid Action Force and Delhi Police.
CJP spokesperson Ashutosh Ranka later announced that the government had called them for another round of meeting. “Saurav (Das) and I are going. You should all wait here. We will return with the responses to all our demands in writing,” he said.
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The CJP was born out of a controversial remark by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant earlier this year, and initially garnered millions of followers on social media before hitting the streets.
Dipke said he wanted to thank Chief Justice of India Surya Kant too. “Thanks for calling us cockroaches. If he hadn’t called us cockroaches, I wouldn’t have come to India. This movement would not have started,” he said.
Activist Sonam Wangchuk, who was on a 26-day hunger strike, called Pradhan’s resignation a victory of democracy, and of “peace, patience & persévérance”.
“Congratulations CJP, Gen Z of the nation and thank you all citizens for shedding fear and the fear of fear and rising up from every corner of the nation,” he said.
