Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan submitted his resignation to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday, a day after the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP)-led protests at Jantar Mantar demanded he be sacked over the NEET-UG 2026 paper leak.
In a letter addressed to “young friends” on X, Pradhan said he had always respected the aspirations of the country’s youth and took full responsibility from the outset for the “irregularities” that came to light in the NEET-UG exam held in May 2026, after which the government handed the matter to the CBI, cancelled the exam and ordered a re-examination, alongside a move to computer-based testing from next year. He said the re-examination was completed on June 21 and results declared on July 16 were “satisfactory”, but that “individuals holding responsible positions” had tried to mislead students during this period, which he said “caused me deep distress”.
