Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan Resigns Amid Violent NEET Protests

Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan resigned on July 26 following sustained public pressure and violent student protests in Delhi and Bihar. The unrest centered on unemployment, repeated examination paper leaks, and the deteriorating state of the education system. Following the resignation, President Droupadi Murmu appointed Union Minister Pralhad Joshi to lead the Ministry of Education.

In Patna, Bihar, the protests escalated into a statewide shutdown involving clashes between law enforcement and students who vandalized police vehicles. Tej Pratap Yadav, National President of the Janshakti Janata Dal, was arrested on charges of rioting and provoking demonstrators. He was subsequently remanded to 14-day judicial custody and sent to Beur Jail. While police cited the violence as the cause for the arrest, JJD workers claimed the move was politically motivated due to Yadav's support for Prashant Kishor's movement to dislodge the NDA government.

Political reactions to the events were sharply divided. Karnataka Home Minister Priyank Kharge characterized the resignation as a forced move to protect Prime Minister Narendra Modi's popularity and demanded that the Prime Minister address Parliament regarding the irregularities. Prashant Kishor condemned the arrest of Yadav and described Pradhan's exit as the beginning of a broader push for public accountability. Yadav maintained that the students' demands were legitimate and suggested that the resignation should have occurred much earlier.