Celebrations broke out at the Jantar Mantar protest site on Saturday after Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan resigned over the NEET paper leak row with protesters dancing, cheering, waving the tricolour and raising slogans of “Vande Mataram”.
Protesters, led by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), were seen hugging each other and dancing on stage to the patriotic song “Chak De! India”.
Many held up portraits and posters of Dr B R Ambedkar as the gathering celebrated the minister's resignation, which they described as a victory for their agitation. Addressing the gathering, CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke said the resignation demonstrated the strength of democratic protest. “They used to say that this government does not see resignations. We say the world bends if there is someone who can make it bend,” he said.
Youth at Jantar Mantar site shouted “Jai Hind” as the national anthem played on loudspeakers and sweets were distributed among all those present as at least 1,000 police officials stood nearby guarding the area.
"Young generation is here. This is win for the Constitution,” a protester said, walking with a copy of the Indian constitution at the protest site after the minister's resignation. “We are not a lazy generation.”
Pradhan's resignation is “a victory of peace, patience & perseverance”, activist Sonam Wangchuk, who was on a hunger strike for 26 days to support the youngster's movement, wrote on X.
Student bodies says they are not done yet
Student organisations cutting across party lines also celebrated the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the NEET paper leak. However, many student organisations said they would continue their movement until the National Testing Agency (NTA) is scrapped, and the National Education Policy (NEP), 2020, is withdrawn
Neha Bora, a PhD scholar at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) and one of the three AISA members who were on indefinite hunger strike along with activist Sonam Wangchuk, expressed her jubilation on X, saying “Congratulations on the defeat @dpradhanbjp.”
Activists of the Congress-affiliated student body, National Students' Union of India, announced a “victory march” from the organisation’s headquarters on Raisina Road to mark Pradhan’s resignation. In a post on X, former national president of NSUI Varun Choudhary said, “This is the victory of millions of Gen Z and young Indians who stood up against a failed Modi government.”
“But this is only the beginning. The demands of students have not yet been fully met,” he further wrote, adding that Pradhan's resignation alone is not enough.
The Students' Federation of India (SFI) and the All India Students' Association (AISA) said their movement would continue until the National Testing Agency (NTA) is scrapped and the National Education Policy (NEP), 2020 is withdrawn.
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