Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan resigns after 37 days of nationwide agitation over NEET-UG 2026 paper leak. MDMK chief Vaiko termed it a victory of the student revolution and said that the Modi government has surrendered.
Opposition declared victory of students
Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [भारत]July 26 (ANI): Following the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, MDMK chief Vaiko has described the result as a victory for the student protesters. He said that the Modi government has ‘surrendered’ due to the agitation over the NEET-UG 2026 paper leak controversy. Vaiko told reporters, “The student revolution and the cockroach party revolution scared the Modi government. They were scared of future developments, so they surrendered. We hope that the poisonous plans of Hindutva forces and BJP will not succeed. We salute the revolutionary students and those soldiers who took part in the movement against NEET.”
Telangana minister Anasuya Seetakka also expressed similar sentiments and accused the Center of adopting a ‘dictatorial attitude’ against the protesters. He said, “This decision should have been taken three months ago, but it was not taken at that time. Now, this protest has shown the strength of the students. The protest reached a high level and the Modi government adopted a dictatorial attitude. The students have succeeded in their protest.”
How did the pressure of the movement increase?
The 37-day long movement ended on Saturday afternoon with the resignation of Dharmendra Pradhan. Cockroach Janata Party, which started as a satirical social media account after CJI Surya Kant’s remarks, withdrew its protest from Jantar Mantar after getting assurance on its demands from the government.
Dharmendra Pradhan resigns from the Council of Ministers amid nationwide protests over NEET-UG 2026 paper leak. At Jantar Mantar, youth and student protesters redefined dissent by replacing traditional slogans with viral Gen-Z slang, meme-inspired signage and satirical digital culture during the CJP-led protests.
After over a week of protests, the movement got new momentum when Ladakh activist Sonam Wangchuk joined it and became the face of the movement with her 26-day long hunger strike. Six student union leaders also went on hunger strike along with Wangchuk. Three of them were reportedly hospitalised, while the other three broke their fast on 20 July.
A huge crowd gathered at Jantar Mantar after Delhi Police took Wangchuk from the protest site to Safdarjung Hospital. He was later shifted to a private hospital in Gurugram on the orders of the Delhi High Court.
The movement reached its peak on 20 July with the ‘Chalo Sansad’ march, which was met with police action against the protesters. The police action was criticized by the opposition, while the police said that the protest had turned violent.
After July 20, pressure began to mount with nationwide protests, with many opposition leaders also coming forward to join the movement. Samajwadi Party MP Dimple Yadav, senior CPI(M) leader Brinda Karat, CPI MP P Santosh, former Delhi education minister Manish Sisodia and Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad were among the leaders who joined the CJP at Jantar Mantar.
Pradhan submitted his resignation to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which was later accepted. After this announcement made by Pradhan, an atmosphere of celebration was created at the protest site. (ANI)
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