NEW DELHI: Hours after Dharmendra Pradhan resigned as Union education minister amid the nationwide protest over the NEET paper leak, Madhya Pradesh minister Kailash Vijayvargiya claimed that Pradhan had offered to step down on the very first day of the protests at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar.Vijayvargiya, speaking to news agency PTI in Indore on Saturday, said Pradhan had informed the BJP leadership that he was willing to resign if the party believed it was necessary.“On the first day, as soon as the student agitation began, Pradhan had told the BJP president that if he felt it was necessary, he was ready to resign as education minister,” Vijayvargiya said.According to the BJP leader, the party president asked Pradhan not to submit his resignation at the time, saying no decision had been taken and advising him not to discuss the matter further.
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He claimed that Pradhan stepped down immediately once the party later decided that he should resign.Vijayvargiya also defended the former education minister, saying he had carried out every responsibility entrusted to him with honesty and dedication.Referring to Pradhan’s resignation, he alleged that the move had thwarted attempts by “foreign forces” to destabilise India by fuelling unrest similar to that witnessed in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.“Pradhan’s resignation has foiled the designs of those foreign forces that wanted to destabilise India by spreading violence, as happened in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. I congratulate him for what he has done,” he said.Pradhan resigned on Saturday, following which the Cockroach Janta Party withdrew its 36-day agitation that had mobilised lakhs of people over alleged irregularities in competitive examinations and the NEET paper leak.After Pradhan resigned, senior BJP leader Pralhad Joshi has been entrusted with the additional charge of the Union Ministry of Education, succeeding Dharmendra Pradhan, who resigned on Saturday, taking moral responsibility for the NEET-UG 2026 paper leak controversy.The appointment comes at a crucial time for the ministry, which is implementing a series of examination reforms following the controversy. Along with the Education Ministry, Joshi will continue to handle his existing portfolios of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and New and Renewable Energy.Soon after assuming the additional responsibility, Joshi said he accepted the role with “a sense of duty and humility” and pledged to work towards further strengthening India’s education system.“I accept this responsibility with a sense of duty and humility. I am thankful to the Prime Minister. In the last four to five years, Dharmendra Pradhan implemented the National Education Policy and several important initiatives. Under the guidance of the Prime Minister, I will work to the best of my ability and fulfill my responsibilities with dedication,” he said.
