India’s Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan resigned on Saturday after weeks of nationwide protests led by the youth-led Cockroach Janta Party, with the government accepting all four of the movement’s key demands in what Bloomberg described as a rare concession to a popular movement and the deepest political crisis of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s third term.
CJP spokesperson Ashutosh Ranka announced at a joint press briefing with federal ministers that all demands had been accepted and called on protesters to withdraw immediately and return home peacefully. CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke told jubilant crowds at Jantar Mantar “we have done it” as thousands chanted victory slogans and the national anthem played.
The four demands accepted were Pradhan’s resignation, compensation of 10 million rupees to families of students who died by suicide over the exam leaks, no punitive action against protesters, and a public apology from Delhi Police. Pradhan said on X that recent events had left him deeply pained and he was stepping down in the interest of students and the country.
The protests began in late June after NEET medical entrance exam paper leaks forced two million students to retake the exam.
