Pralhad Joshi appointed as Education Minister after Pradhan resigns from post

New Delhi/ Bengaluru

Union Minister Prahlad Joshi has been appointed as Education Minister following Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation from the post on Saturday. Joshi has been given additional charge of the Education Ministry besides his role as Consumer Affairs Minister. A Rashtrapati Bhavan communique said the President, as advised by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has accepted the resignation of Pradhan with immediate effect. It said that on the advice of the Prime Minister, the President has directed that Joshi, Cabinet Minister, be assigned the charge of the Ministry of Education, in addition to his own duties.

Earlier in the day, Pradhan resigned from his post following the Cockroach Janta Party-led student protests across the country, demanding his ouster over the NEET paper leak controversy. Pradhan said it is not a matter of "individual prestige" for him and he is disturbed to see the series of events that have unfolded in the last 10 days. The move comes after President Droupadi Murmu accepted the resignation of Dharmendra Pradhan from the Union Council of Ministers with immediate effect, as advised by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Earlier in the day, Pradhan resigned from his post following the Cockroach Janta Party-led student protests across the country, demanding his ouster over the NEET paper leak controversy. Pradhan announced his resignation in a statement, saying the developments of the past 10 days had "saddened" him deeply and that the issue was "not a matter of personal prestige". He said it is not a matter of "individual prestige" for him, and he is disturbed to see the series of events that have unfolded in the last 10 days.

Noting that he did not want "anti-national forces" to exploit the situation, Pradhan said he wanted to ensure that "the unity of the nation remains intact", "the future of even a single student should not become entangled in legal complications" and that students devote their time to studies and building their careers. "Keeping all these considerations in mind, I have sent my resignation to the Hon'ble Prime Minister," he said.

Pradhan is only the second Union minister during Modi's tenure as PM since 2014 to resign following sustained public controversy. The first was M J Akbar, who stepped down as minister of state for external affairs in 2018 after sexual harassment allegations surfaced against him during the #MeToo movement.

Pradhan's resignation is among the few occasions since 2014 that the Modi government has yielded to sustained public or political pressure - the decision in 2015 to shelve the proposed amendments to the land acquisition law and the repeal of the three farm laws in 2021 being two major retreats.