Guwahati: Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan resigned on Saturday. He said the decision was taken to safeguard students’ futures and stop “anti-national forces” from misusing the large youth protests at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar.
He announced the decision on X hours before the third round of talks between the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) and the Centre.
Pradhan’s resignation was the key demand of the protesters who had been camping at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar for more than a month.
The talks between the CJP and the Centre had reached a standstill over the issue. On Saturday morning, the CJP had said that no further discussions would take place unless the government agreed to remove Dharmendra Pradhan from the post of Union Education Minister.
With Pradhan stepping down, the government has accepted the main demand raised by the protesters. Their other demands included no legal action against student protesters and compensation for the families of students who died by suicide following the NEET paper leak.
The Centre had assured the CJP on the latter two demands during talks on Friday but had not given any response regarding Pradhan’s resignation.
In a post on X announcing his resignation, Pradhan said he respected the concerns, aspirations and expectations of the country’s youth. He also thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for giving him the opportunity to serve the nation under his leadership.
The protest site at Jantar Mantar erupted in celebrations after demonstrators received news of Pradhan’s resignation.
The CJP reacted to the development by posting, “Long Live Student Power.”
CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke announced the news from the Jantar Mantar stage, saying, “We have done it.”
He added that people used to say no one resigns in this government, but the protesters had made it happen.
The student protests spread to several parts of the country in recent days and became a major issue for the government, with opposition parties supporting the protesters and criticising the Centre.