’Long Live Student Power’: CJP Welcomes Indian Education Minister’s Resignation

New Delhi: The Cockroach Janata Party (CJP), a newly formed satirical political group in India, has welcomed the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, posting the slogan "Long Live Student Power" on X (formerly Twitter) shortly after his resignation was announced on Saturday.

Since June, CJP members had been staging protests at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi, demanding accountability over alleged irregularities in competitive examinations, including the NEET-UG medical entrance examination. One of the movement's key demands was the resignation of the Education Minister.

Pradhan announced his resignation on X just hours before the scheduled third round of talks between representatives of the central government and the CJP. Indian media reported that he had submitted his resignation to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

In his resignation statement, Pradhan said he had accepted full responsibility for the controversy from the very beginning and had never attempted to avoid accountability. He stressed that his priority had been to ensure that no deserving student's future was destroyed because of examination malpractice or organized cheating networks.

He also reaffirmed his faith in India's democratic institutions and expressed deep respect for the aspirations, dreams, and expectations of the country's youth. According to Pradhan, the developments of the past several days had caused him great pain, but he emphasized that the issue was never about his personal prestige.

The NEET-UG examination, originally held on May 3, 2026, was cancelled following allegations of a question paper leak and was subsequently reconducted on June 21.

Source: NDTV