Second time in last 12 years a minister quit under pressure
New Delhi: The Modi government finally blinked. Caving in under an unprecedented wave of student protests led by the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) that swept campuses and streets across the national capital and the country, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government saw Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan resign on Saturday afternoon. Within seconds of the news breaking, Jantar Mantar, the epicentre of the students’ agitation, erupted in jubilation.
Cries of “We have won” rang through the air as students waved victory posters, beat drums and roared in celebration. The streets and the pavements of Sansad Marg trembled as thousands of jubilant students broke into a frenzy, running, dancing and embracing one another all the way to Jantar Mantar. The Union education minister, who was virtually forced to quit as every attempt to curb the agitation failed, maintained that his departure from the ministry is not a matter of “individual prestige” for him. “Anti-national forces should not be allowed to take advantage of the situation at Jantar Mantar,” Pradhan said. After he stepped down, several BJP leaders met him at his residence to express solidarity. Following Pradhan's resignation from the post, Union consumer affairs minister Prahlad Joshi was given additional charge of the education ministry. Flushed with victory, the CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke indicated that this is not the end of the battle and said, “It’s only the beginning.”
Later in the day, the CJP, in a joint press conference with Union ministers J.P. Nadda and Jitendra Singh, withdrew its agitation over the NEET paper leak issue after the government accepted all demands, including withdrawal of FIRs against protesters. Incidentally, this is the second time in the last 12 years that the Modi government has removed a Union minister under pressure. Before Pradhan, the last Union minister to resign was M.J. Akbar, who stepped down in 2018 after a barrage of sexual harass ment allegations surfaced against him during “#MeToo” movement.
