Azadeh Moshiri
Reporting from Delhi

The minister's resignation is a rare crack in Modi’s seemingly impenetrable facade after more than 12 years in office.

Throughout the week, it became clear the government was under mounting pressure and unable to contain a growing youth movement.

Now, Dharmendra Pradhan has resigned, insisting he never “turned his back” on the problems that arose from the leak of a medical entrance exam and that he wanted children to focus on their studies.

After years of frustration, high unemployment and feeling ignored by mainstream politics, young Indians have found a group that can unite them for now. The question now is where does the Cockroach Janta Party go from here, after learning of its considerable leverage: India’s youth.

Senior Indian ministers are reacting to Pradhan's resignation.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju, in a post on X, praised Pradhan's tenure, calling his career "a testament to lifelong engagement with public life and student welfare".

He also thanked him for his "relentless service" and commitment to education reforms.

Image source, Getty Images

Dharmendra Pradhan's political story comes with a striking irony: he launched his career protesting against a question paper leak, then resigned on Saturday as education minister decades later over another.

Born into a political family in the eastern state of Odisha, 57-year-old Pradhan emerged through the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the student wing of the RSS, the umbrella organisation of Hindu nationalist parties. He reportedly led student protests and suffered injuries in a police baton charge during an anti-paper leak demonstration in 1997.

Although he finished third in the local university students' union election, he rose steadily through the BJP, serving as ABVP national general secretary, BJP youth chief and later as one of the party's key election strategists.

A close ally of PM Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and Health Minister JP Nadda, he is widely credited with expanding the BJP's organisation in Odisha.

Appointed junior petroleum minister when Modi came to power in 2014, Pradhan served in the upper house from Bihar before returning to Odisha to win a lower house seat in 2024.

This is the moment the CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke announced news of the education minister's resignation at Delhi's Jantar Mantar.

The crowd erupts into a loud cheer as he yells: 'We have done it.'

From the start of the protests seven weeks back, the CJP had said their core demand was Pradhan's resignation.

But the movement has also been demanding a complete overhaul of India's education system, with greater accountability for alleged exam paper leaks.

The protesters were angry over the cancellation of India's top medical entrance exam - the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test - Undergraduate (NEET - UG) - after a paper leak in May.

The CJP said the minister should take moral responsibility for the leak and quit.

The CJP has also demanded 10m rupees ($103,554; £77,737) in compensation for the families of NEET aspirants who allegedly died by suicide after the paper was cancelled, and the withdrawal of all cases against all protesters.

Yogita Limaye
Reporting from Jantar Mantar

I was at the protest site shortly after the resignation was announced and the atmosphere had erupted into jubilation. People were dancing, cheering and chanting slogans.

"We have won," a woman waving an India flag said.

"The government will know now that if they don’t perform, the people will come out on the streets and ask for accountability,” a man said.

From the stage, announcements were being made that no-one should leave the protest site until the resignation was confirmed and written assurances were given.

Since coming to power in 2014, PM Modi's government has rarely brooked dissent and has usually come down heavily on protests.

It has faced challenges before and the only other instance when it backtracked was when it repealed three controversial farm laws after thousands of farmers protested for around a year.

This time, the government clearly underestimated the anger and staying power of the protesters.

After ignoring them for weeks, it was forced to take them seriously this week after a brutal police crackdown on protesters attempting to march to parliament sparked massive public anger.

But until today, it was unclear whether Pradhan - a senior government minister - would actually resign or not. For now, the protesters - many of them young and attending their first such agitation - have reason to feel triumphant.

The CJP has put out a statement by its founder Dipke on X saying the fight is not over.

He says the families of students who died by suicide after a key medical exam was cancelled must receive compensation - a demand he says the group will not drop.

Dipke also renewed calls for action against police officers he accused of using excessive force against protesters on 20 July when thousands of CJP supporters tried to march to Parliament.

"Remember, do not mess with [the] cockroach," he added.

As news of Pradhan's resignation broke, huge celebration erupted at the CJP's main protest site in central Delhi.

"We have done it," a visibly emotional Abhijeet Dipke, CJP's founder, screamed from the makeshift stage amid deafening cheers from the crowds.

He then went on to thank everyone for their efforts and support and made a special mention of the students who had been on a hunger strike for weeks alongside activist Sonam Wangchuk.

The CJP has emerged as one of India's biggest youth protest movements, despite not being a political party.

The group was formed after the chief justice of India likened some unemployed young people to "cockroaches". He later said he was referring specifically to people with "fake and bogus degrees", but by then, the term had taken a life on its own.

Many young people - frustrated by rising unemployment and irregularities in competitive exams - embraced it, turning the insect into a symbol of defiance and resilience.

Image source, Getty Images

Led by Abhijeet Dipke, the CJP campaigned for reforms to India's education system, greater accountability over exam paper leaks and the resignation of Pradhan.

The movement quickly gained a huge following online and later drew tens of thousands to protesters in the capital.

The CJP has welcomed the resignation as a major victory for its movement.

The ouster of India's education minister had been the group's key demand - one its leaders repeatedly called "non-negotiable".

"Cockroaches won. Democracy won!" the CJP said in a post on X.

Pradhan announced his resignation on X in a post just hours before the third round of talks between the government and the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP).

"I hold deep respect for the aspirations, sentiments, and rightful expectations of the youth of this country. Realising the dreams of India's young generation has been the moral resolve of our political and social life," he wrote.

"I express my gratitude to Prime Minister [Narendra Modi} for the opportunity given to me to serve the nation under his visionary leadership," he added.

Image source, Getty Images

In a major victory for India's 'cockroach' protesters, Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has resigned after weeks of demonstrations demanding educational reforms.

The protests were spearheaded by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) - an online satirical campaign that grew into a nationwide movement seeking greater accountability from the government.

What began as a student-led campaign against alleged exam paper leaks became one of India's biggest displays of public dissent in recent years, with thousands camping in Delhi and demonstrations spreading across the country.

We'll bring you the latest on the political fallout, the protesters' response and what happens next, as events unfold.

Stay with us.