About two hours after Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan finally resigned amid mass youth protests, Prime Minister Narendra Modi posted on X about “a proud moment for every Indian!”.
He said he was delighted that Sarnath in Uttar Pradesh has been inscribed on the Unesco World Heritage List. “Sarnath has a close association with Lord Buddha, whose timeless message of wisdom, compassion and harmony inspires the world,” read the post on PM Modi's own handle. There was no post before it, and at least until 6.15 pm, on Pradhan's resignation.
On the Unesco recognition, he said it “celebrates India’s profound civilisational and spiritual heritage”.
“It will also inspire more people across the world to come to Sarnath and connect with the ideals of Lord Buddha,” the post further read.
He reposted with it the official announcement by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco).
{{/usCountry}}He reposted with it the official announcement by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco).
{{/usCountry}}Among other posts, he had on July 24 and 23 made posts about the ongoing protest led by the Cockroach Janta Party. In one, he urged activist Sonam Wangchuk, who'd been on hunger strike at the CJP protest, to “follow the doctors' advice and regain your old weight as soon as possible” after he broke his fast.
Late night on July 23, he had posted a selfie-style video — the informal aesthetic purportedly directed at the Reel-friendly Gen-Z protesters — promising stricter laws to curb paper leaks. Less than 48 hours later, the minister resigned saying he took responsibility for the NEET-UG leak in May.
The protest has concluded for now as the government has also accepted the demands to take back cases against protesters hit by cops on July 20 during their march towards Parliament — a moment that fuelled the protests further — and compensation to those who died by suicide following the paper leak.
Pradhan's resignation was the main “non-negotiable” demand of the CJP as well the Congress led by Rahul Gandhi.
BJP leaders heap praises on Pradhan
Senior BJP leaders, however, praised Dharmendra Pradhan, highlighting his role in implementing the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and bringing changes to India's education system.
For instance, Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma said Pradhan worked with a focus on “restoring the civilisational spirit of Bharat” and advancing the process of “decolonising” education. He also praised Pradhan’s commitment to implementing the NEP despite political challenges.
Union ministers and several other leaders made posts praising Pradhan, a senior BJP leader from Odisha whose father was also a minister in Atal Bihari Vajpayee's BJP-led NDA government over around three decades ago.
Oppn, CJP react
Meanwhile, Rahul Gandhi said the protest was “a warning” from students and the Opposition to the government “that you cannot run the country the way you have been running".
He said the resignation was “one step in a very deep problem”.
CJP's Abhijeet Dipke's, meanwhile, also had message for Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, from the stage at Jantar Mantar, minutes after Dharmendra Pradhan resigned under pressure from the movement that owed its origin and name to a remarks by India's top judge.
“I would like to thank CJI Surya Kant,” the Cockroach Janta Party founder told supporters, “If he hadn't called us cockroaches, I wouldn't have come to India. This movement would not have started.”
The comment traced the movement's arc back to its origin, a May 15 Supreme Court hearing on Senior Advocate designation, during which the CJI remarked that “there are youngsters like cockroaches, who don't get any employment and don't have any place in the profession”. Kant later said the remark was directed only at holders of fake law degrees, not at unemployed youth broadly. He has since reiterated that sections of the media misquoted him. The clarifications did little to stop the remark from going viral.