In a major win for the Cockroach Janta Party and student protestors across India, Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has handed over his resignation to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The announcement comes amid escalating protests across the country calling for the minister to step down.
In the letter addressed to the public, Pradhan expressed his gratitude to the Prime Minister before addressing the NEET controversy.
"From day one, I took full responsibility for this situation and never shied away from it. It was my firm resolve that we would not allow the potential of any meritorious student to be undermined by exam mafias, nor would we permit any injustice to befall any student," Pradhan wrote about the NEET examination cancellations.
"However, even during this process, individuals in positions of responsibility attempted to mislead many students and create obstacles, which caused me immense distress," he added.
"Considering the situation that has unfolded at Jantar Mantar and across the country – and to ensure that anti-national forces do not exploit this situation, that national unity remains intact, that the future of even a single Indian student does not get entangled in legal complexities, and that our children can devote their time to studies and focus on building their careers – I have submitted my resignation letter to the Honorable Prime Minister," Pradhan said of his decision to step down from the post.
The PM is yet to approve the resignation.
The protests calling for the minister's resignation started on June 6 after CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke formed the satirical online party and organised protests at the Jantar Mantar.
The calls for the resignation escalated after Delhi police lathi-charged student protesters on July 22. The Opposition party Congress also joined in on the demands. Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi said that the three demands raised by the protesters are “non-negotiable”. He said the first demand is that the “corrupt, incompetent and misaligned” Education Minister has to be “sacked”.
