This is the third term of Prime Minister Narendra Modi after coming to power in 2014. During his tenure there have been many movements ranging from farmers movement to anti CAA-NRC and SIR. The opposition has also been continuously agitating on various issues. The opposition has been agitating on the streets by disrupting the proceedings of Parliament, but in the NEET paper leak case Gen-Z The movement showed such results that the government had to bow down.
On Friday, the government had taken many strict steps to stop paper leaks in the examination, which included sacking 47 NTA officials, reforming NTA, transfer of Education Secretary, 10 years imprisonment and Rs 10 crore fine on paper leak, etc. But on Saturday, the government accepted the demands of the agitators and Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan finally had to resign.
Prime Minister and other ministers who had to resign
Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation is also important because he is the second sitting Union Minister to resign from the post since Narendra Modi became Prime Minister in 2014. Odisha-born Dharmendra Pradhan first took over as the Education Minister in 2021 and was re-appointed to the post after BJP won the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
Before Pradhan, only one other sitting Union minister had resigned under public pressure since the Modi government came to power in 2014, and that was journalist-turned-politician MJ Akbar. Akbar, who was the Minister of State for External Affairs at that time, had resigned in October 2018. This happened 10 days after senior journalist Priya Ramani openly accused him of sexual harassment and misconduct, although he rejected the allegations.
NEET-UG 2026 paper leak and beginning of movement
Let us find out what happened due to which Dharmendra Pradhan had to resign. The initial reason for the protest was the alleged paper leak of the NEET-UG 2026 medical entrance exam held on May 3 and subsequent cancellation of the exam, due to which the test had to be conducted again on June 21. Between the exams and the order for re-test, 12 students committed suicide due to stress and trauma. While there was a lot of anger over this, a political movement named Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) was started after Chief Justice of India Surya Kant’s cockroach comment during a hearing on May 15, 2026.
Under the banner of CJP, on June 6, movements started in different parts of the country demanding accountability and resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. Along with the NEET paper leak, public anger and restlessness over administrative issues in other board exams sparked protests across the country.
Pressure created by protest at Jantar Mantar
After initial isolated protests across the country, the CJP regrouped and launched an indefinite strike with a group of students and youth at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on 20 June. This protest appealed to a lot of youth and it attracted an even larger crowd who joined the protest at Jantar Mantar.
Sonam Wangchuk, who had declared herself an honorary cockroach upon becoming CJP in mid-May, joined the protests at Jantar Mantar on June 28 and began an indefinite fast. On July 18, police removed Sonam Wangchuk from the protest site and took her to Safdarjung Hospital as her vital signs were declining and she had lost a lot of weight. Later, on the appeal of his wife, following the order of Delhi High Court, he was taken to Medanta Hospital on 21 July, but later after talks with ministers JP Nadda and Jitendra Singh, he broke his fast on the night of 23 July.
Movement gained momentum due to police action
Earlier on July 20, the protesting students had planned to take out a march to the Parliament. It is said that during the march to Parliament, the police and security forces lathi-charged the students. Police have claimed that around 100 people have been injured in stone pelting by protesters. The police lathi charge was condemned across the country. The opposition started cornering the government on this issue.
The main demand of the CJP was the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan for alleged repeated failures in the integrity of national examinations and multiple paper leaks. They demanded compensation for the affected students and the families of those who committed suicide. At the same time, there was a demand for major reforms to make the examination system more transparent and accountable and this movement intensified.
Prominent people came out in support of Gen Z movement
This movement was particularly prominent among candidates of competitive exams (NEET and other similar entrance tests) and Gen-Z. Apart from this, those who have taken the tag of ‘cockroach’ as a protest after Abhijeet Deepke’s stance also became a part of the protest. Student groups, parents of candidates and some civil-society people have either joined in or shown solidarity. Opposition leaders also gave their support.
The government’s response was initially strict. Police lathicharged and reportedly used pellet guns on protesters during the march to Parliament, seriously injuring several people and detaining more than 70 people. However, the police have denied any use of pellet guns and claimed that more than 100 people have been injured in alleged stone pelting by protesters.
Wave of happiness among Gen-Z due to Pradhan’s resignation
After weeks of silence on this issue, PM Modi announced on Thursday that fast track courts will be created and criminals involved in the leak will be given strict punishment and the future of India’s youth will be secured and the central government took several steps, but Gen-Z remained adamant on their demand and ultimately the government had to bow to their demands and Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan resigned.
As soon as the news of resignation spread, there was a wave of happiness among the CJP supporters sitting on dharna at Jantar Mantar demanding the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. Supporters were seen celebrating by dancing and dancing and CJP founder Abhijeet Deepke called it a victory for democracy.
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