NEW DELHI: Activist Sonam Wangchuk on Saturday welcomed Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation, calling it a “victory of democracy” and crediting peaceful public participation and student-led protests for the outcome.In a post on X, Wangchuk said: “IT’S A VICTORY OF DEMOCRACY direct democracy… straight from the streets. It’s a victory of peace, patience & persévérance. Congratulations CJP, Gen Z of the nation and thank you all citizens for shedding fear and the fear of fear and rising up from every corner of the nation. FROM ACCOUNTABILITY, NOW TO REFORMS” Pradhan resigned earlier in the day, submitting his resignation to Prime Minister Narendra Modi amid nationwide protests over the NEET-UG paper leak.In his resignation letter addressed to students, Pradhan said he had decided to step down in view of the situation that had developed at Jantar Mantar and across the country.”Considering the situation that has developed at Jantar Mantar and across the country — that anti-national forces should not take advantage of this situation, that the unity of the country should be preserved, that not even a single student’s future should get entangled in legal complications, and that our children should devote their time to studies and focus on building their careers — I have sent my resignation to the Hon’ble Prime Minister,” he said. Also read: Dharmendra Pradhan resigns as Union education minister amid massive student protestsPradhan said the government had acted immediately after irregularities surfaced in the NEET-UG examination by handing the probe to the CBI, cancelling the examination and announcing a fresh date for the re-examination. He also said the examination would be conducted in Computer-Based Test (CBT) mode from next year.The former minister maintained that he had accepted responsibility for the controversy from the outset and accused “certain individuals” of misleading students during the protests. He also said the events of the past several days had saddened him but stressed that protecting students’ interests remained his priority.Pradhan’s resignation came after weeks of protests led by students and the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), which had been demanding accountability over the alleged examination irregularities.
