Pralhad Joshi appointed education minister; President accepts Dharmendra Pradhan resignation
New Delhi: Union Minister Prahlad Joshi has been given additional charge of the Ministry of Education after Dharmendra Pradhan resigned from the post earlier today. Joshi will continue to serve as the Union Minister for Consumer Affairs while also overseeing the Education Ministry. According to a communique issued by Rashtrapati Bhavan, President Droupadi Murmu accepted Pradhan's resignation with immediate effect on the advice of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
CJP Protest LIVE updates
The communique further stated that, acting on the Prime Minister's recommendation, the President assigned the Education Ministry to Joshi in addition to his existing portfolio. Earlier in the day, Pradhan stepped down amid nationwide student protests led by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), which had been demanding his resignation over the NEET paper leak controversy. In his resignation statement, Pradhan said the issue was never about "individual prestige" and added that he was deeply disturbed by the developments of the past 10 days.
Dharmendra Pradhan's registration letter
Dharmendra Pradhan announced his registration on his official X. His registration letter which is originally in Hindi, reads, "I express my gratitude to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the opportunity I have had to serve the nation under his visionary leadership. However, irregularities were discovered in the NEET UG exam held on May 3, 2026. The Government of India immediately took cognizance of this, entrusted the investigation to the CBI, canceled the exam, and rescheduled the exam. It was also decided to conduct the exam in CBT (Computer-Based Test) mode from next year."
"From day one, I took responsibility for this and never turned away from this situation. I was determined not to let the prospects of any meritorious student be jeopardized by the exam mafia, not to allow any injustice to happen to any student," the letter reads further.
(with inputs from PTI)