Dharmendra Pradhan Resigns as Education Minister After 10 Days of Student Protests Over Paper Leak

The Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has finally resigned. After about 10 days of student protests against the paper leak, he sent his resignation to the Prime Minister on Saturday. The protesting students’ main demand was that the Education Minister step down.

After Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation, Abhijeet Dipke, founder of the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP), said, “It was said that resignations don’t happen in this government. The world bends; you just need someone to make it bend.” Sonam Wangchuk congratulated CJP and Gen Z, saying it was a victory for democracy.

The Congress party posted on X, “Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation is a victory for the youth, a victory for India’s GEN Z. This is the victory of the millions of young people who raised their voice across the country to improve the education system.”

Dharmendra Pradhan shared the information about his resignation on social media platform X. He wrote, “Seeing the developments of the last 10 days has saddened me. This is not a matter of personal prestige for me. India’s youth is the real strength of this country. We will not let the country’s youth get trapped in a web of confusion; that is my resolve. Considering the situation at Jantar Mantar and in the country, and to ensure that anti-national forces do not benefit from it, that the country’s unity remains intact, that not a single student in India gets caught in legal complications, and that our children spend their time studying and focusing on building their careers, I have sent my resignation to the Honorable Prime Minister.”

However, even after Pradhan’s resignation, CJP has indicated that it will continue the sit-in protests. Abhijeet Deepke said they still have two demands. “We will not leave like this. But the families of the children who died by suicide should receive compensation of one crore rupees. Second, it should be ensured that no action is taken against any protesting student. In addition, action should be taken against the police thugs who carried out the action on the 20th.”

Cockroach Janta Party's National Spokesperson Ashutosh Ranka said, "If you accept our demands in writing, we will go home. We have requested permission to take out a peaceful candle march across the country. Everyone should take out a candle march across the country at 6:00 in the evening."

Meanwhile, a new bill to stop paper leaks is likely to be introduced in Parliament on Monday. The Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024 proposes increasing the prison sentence for paper leak-related offenses to up to 10 years and fines up to 10 crore rupees.

A copy of the bill has been distributed to Members of Parliament. According to it, those involved in paper leaks in examinations could face a minimum of 5 years and a maximum of 10 years in prison, along with fines up to 50 lakh rupees. For organized crimes, the bill provides for at least 7 years in prison and fines up to 10 crore rupees.