Pradhan Resigns, CJP student protests called off

Nethra Ramakrishnan
Jul 27
5 min read

At 2:00 pm on Saturday, July 25th, Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan announced via a post on X (formerly Twitter) that he had tendered his resignation. In the statement, he wrote: “To ensure that anti-national forces do not take advantage of the situation at Jantar Mantar and across the nation, that national unity is preserved, that no student’s future is compromised by legal complications, and that students able to focus on studying and building their careers - in consideration of all this, I have sent my letter of resignation to the Prime Minister.” Pradhan also wrote that he had taken full responsibility for the leak of the NEET paper “since day one”, that he held “unwavering faith” in the strength of our democracy, and that he “deeply respected the aspirations, dreams, and expectations of the youth.”

Pradhan’s resignation came five days after the brutal police crackdown on the night of Monday, July 20th. The past week saw increasingly stringent measures from the government to clamp down on the student protest at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar. The central government airlifted an additional ten CRPF (Central Reserve Police Force) companies from Chhattisgarh to be deployed in the national capital. Eighteen metro stations in and around the protest area remained closed for entry and exit since 7:30 a.m. on Thursday, 23rd July, including major connection hubs such as Central Secretariat and Mandi House. The internet connection in the area had also been disabled, and the Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre sent a notice asking web developer GitHub to remove its BlueTooth based messaging application BitChat, which protestors had been using as an offline alternative. The Delhi Traffic Police on Friday, July 25th, issued an advisory via X (formerly Twitter) directing app-based mobility services, food delivery, and rid- hailing platforms to “suitably regulate their services”, including temporary geo-fencing and complete suspension of services in the protest area- services which were being used by protestors to organize food, medicines, and other basic necessities.

However, these measures saw limited success. At midnight on Thursday, July 23rd, Prime Minister Narendra Modi posted a video on social media, promising the formation of fast track courts and a new fine, as well as incarceration, for those involved in paper leaks such as the NEET leak in May. Protestors maintained that this was not enough, and held fast to their demands. Numbers continued to swell at Jantar Mantar and other protest locations across the country. At noon on Saturday, July 25th, Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) spokesperson Saurav Das posted a formal statement on X, condemning what it called “the increasingly authoritarian actions of the Delhi Police”. Indeed, an article in The Print confirmed that Inspector General Seema Dhundhia of the Rapid Action Force had made it clear to officers that “excessive use of force” of the kind witnessed on July 20th “runs contrary to the RAF’s established work culture and image and cannot be justified under any circumstances.”

The celebration following Pradhan’s resignation was immediate. All across the country, protestors were overjoyed at the fulfilment of this key demand. At Jantar Mantar, people danced to music that blared out of large Bluetooth speakers. Some held up signs saying ‘We Won!’. Some even climbed onto gates and water tankers, shouting ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai!’ and waving the tricolour above the overjoyed crowd. The Edict spoke with the protestors at Jantar Mantar, many of whom hailed Pradhan’s resignation as a victory for students across the nation. “We are very proud of our students,” they told us. One woman, who had been attending the protest for several days, echoed this sentiment, but pointed out that the resignation had come after days of police violence and state silence. “The resignation should have come much sooner - why did it take so long?” she asked. “Our children were beaten, they fell sick, and only after that did the education minister resign.” Another protestor, who had travelled all the way from Kolkata to participate in the protest, said that corruption and misgovernance did not affect the education ministry alone. “What about [the minister for Road Transport and Highways], Nitin Gadkari?” he asked. “Roads get washed away or damaged soon after being built. The current policy of mixing ethanol in auto-fuel reduces mileage, but fuel still remains expensive. The movement cannot stop until all the problems of the people are addressed.”

At 5:41 p.m. the same day, in a joint press conference with representatives of the central government, CJP spokesperson Ashutosh Ranka confirmed that the remaining three demands had been fulfilled as well - namely, maximum possible compensation to the families of the students who had ended their lives following the NEET paper leak; government consideration of the CJP’s five-point examination reform charter; and that no legal action should be taken against the protestors. In a post, via X, the CJP stated that they would “withdraw the nationwide agitation with immediate effect.”

Late on Saturday evening, the government announced that Pralhad Joshi, Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, and New and Renewable Energy, would be taking charge of the Ministry of Education in addition to his existing portfolio. In a post on X, Joshi praised Dharmendra Pradhan’s “illustrious political career”, saying that “his commitment to the development of the nation will always be remembered.” In a separate post, Joshi wrote that he accepted his new role as Union Minister for Education with “humility and a deep sense of duty.” By the morning of Sunday, July 26th, footage from ANI showed Jantar Mantar devoid of protestors, a shadow of the celebration of democracy and freedom of expression that it has been this summer.

However, at noon on Monday, July 27th, the Cockroach Janta Party posted a statement on Instagram from spokesperson Saurav Das, alleging that they had received reports of people who attended the protest being “targeted, detained, or arrested by various state agencies… especially in Assam, West Bengal, and Bihar.” The statement calls upon the central government to “immediately honour” the assurances that had been made, and on the basis of which the protest had been withdrawn, reminding the government that the CJP had been promised a written assurance that no punitive action would be taken by Tuesday, July 28th. The statement also assured protestors that the CJP’s legal team was working to “secure the release of those detained, and to extend all possible legal assistance.” The statement reiterates that the nation-wide protest had been suspended “in good faith and solely on the basis of the government’s assurance that it would stand by its word” and says that a violation of that assurance “would not merely amount to a breach of trust with the CJP, but would also be a breach of public trust with lakhs of young Indians who chose dialogue over protest.” The statement does not elaborate on whether the government’s failure to honor the agreement could potentially prompt them to resume the protest, or take similar action. It only says that “such a breach of trust will be completely unacceptable to the youth.”

This is a developing story. Stay tuned to The Edict for the latest.