India's education minister resigns, Delhi protests called off
India's Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan resigned on Saturday after mass youth-led protests demanded his ouster in anger over a string of irregularities in potentially life-changing exams.
Thousands of young people gathered in the capital and in other parts of the country this week, under the banner of the social media-driven Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), demanding an overhaul of the education system and Pradhan's resignation.
"I am pained to see the events of the past 10 days. This is not a matter of personal prestige for me," Pradhan said in a statement posted on social media platform X. "I have sent my resignation letter to the prime minister," Pradhan said in his letter in Hindi.
The CJP said after Pradhan's resignation that all their demands had been met in another round of talks and that they were calling off the protests that were centred on the Jantar Mantar demonstration site in central New Delhi.
Police had fired tear gas and charged with batons at protesters as they tried to march from the site to parliament this week.
The government held two rounds of talks with CJP leaders on Monday and Friday but little headway was made initially, with the youth-led movement sticking to their demands.
Pradhan announced his resignation before the third round of talks.
"India's youth power is the real strength of this nation. My resolve is that we will not let the country's youth get trapped in a vicious cycle of confusion," he said.
- 'We have done it' -
Protesters erupted in joy after Pradhan's announcement.
"We have done it," CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke said to a thunderous response by hundreds of protesters.
The movement has evolved to include concerns over unemployment, opportunities for young people and what critics brand as Prime Minister Narendra Modi's increasingly authoritarian style of governance.
The protests became one of the biggest challenges to Hindu nationalist Modi's administration since his 2024 re-election. The protesters' other demands included compensation for those affected by examination irregularities and for legal cases against protesters to be dropped, according to CJP spokesman Ashutosh Ranka.
India's opposition leader Rahul Gandhi threw his weight behind protesters in support of their cause, calling Pradhan's resignation a "huge step". Gandhi called for Modi to "apologize" and respect students and India's future generations.
"Action should be taken against those guilty of violence against students," he said.
Sunil, 27, who came to the protest site for the first time on Saturday to "experience the atmosphere", said it was "truly electrifying, especially after the minister's resignation". "What the young people did was commendable," he told AFP.
Addressing the irregularities surrounding the NEET-UG 2026 paper leak, Pradhan said the Centre had “immediately" taken cognizance of the matter and that the investigation was handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
“However, irregularities came to light in the NEET-UG examination held on May 3, 2026. The Government of India immediately took cognizance of the matter, handed over the investigation to the CBI, cancelled the examination and announced a date for the re-examination. It was also decided that from next year, the examination would be conducted in CBT (Computer-Based Test) mode", he wrote.
DEMOCRACY WINS! ????????
— Cockroach Janta Party (@CJP_for_India) July 25, 2026
Education minister Dharmendra Pradhan has resigned. pic.twitter.com/DsB6hCHUzP
The social media-driven Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) spearheaded student protests that broke out in response to exam paper leaks, and is seeking systemic reforms in the education system.
Demonstrations at the Jantar Mantar protest site in the centre of New Delhi intensified during the week and began spreading to other parts of the country.
Police fired tear gas and charged with batons at protesters as they tried to march to parliament this week.
The government held two rounds of talks with CJP leaders on Monday and Friday but little headway was made, with the youth-led movement sticking to their demands ahead of another proposed meeting on Saturday.
Pradhan announced his resignation before that much-anticipated third round of talks.
"I am pained to see the events of the past 10 days. This is not a matter of personal prestige for me," he said in his letter in Hindi.
"India's youth power is the real strength of this nation. My resolve is that we will not let the country's youth get trapped in a vicious cycle of confusion."
Protesters erupted in joy after Pradhan's announcement.
"We have done it," CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke said to a thunderous response by hundreds of protesters.
The movement has evolved to include concerns over unemployment, opportunities for young people and what critics brand as Prime Minister Narendra Modi's increasingly authoritarian style of governance.
The protests became one of the biggest challenges to Hindu nationalist Modi's administration since his 2024 re-election.
The protesters' other demands include compensation for those affected by examination irregularities and for legal cases against protesters to be dropped, according to CJP spokesman Ashutosh Ranka.