- NEET-UG leak controversy recalls Minister Pradhan’s 1997 protest.
- Then ABVP leader, Pradhan led 1997 Odisha paper leak protest.
- Opposition demands Pradhan’s resignation, citing past paper leak irony.
As the controversy over the NEET-UG paper leak intensifies and Opposition parties demand the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, a protest from nearly three decades ago has returned to the spotlight.
In 1997, when Odisha was governed by a Congress-led administration under then Chief Minister Janaki Ballabh Patnaik, Pradhan, then an Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) leader, participated in a student protest against an alleged examination paper leak outside the state secretariat in Bhubaneswar.
1997 Protest In Bhubaneswar
According to a 2021 report by The New Indian Express, around 1,500 students gathered outside the Odisha secretariat to protest the alleged paper leak.
At the time, Pradhan was serving as the ABVP’s National Secretary and was preparing to formally join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
The report, citing Pradhan’s close associates, said he entered student politics at the age of 18 and became an active organiser within the ABVP, the students’ wing affiliated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).
Pradhan studied Anthropology at Utkal University and served two terms as the ABVP’s National Secretary between November 1994 and 1997.
‘Pradhan Was Badly Beaten Up’
The New Indian Express quoted Prashant Rout, now Principal of RMD Degree College in Bhubaneswar and Pradhan’s junior at Utkal University, recalling the protest.
“We staged a protest against the Odisha government in front of the secretariat. Around 1,500 students joined us there,” Rout said, as quoted by the newspaper.
According to Rout, the demonstration remained peaceful until police intervened.
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“We were quite scared. Pradhan was badly beaten up that time. He had a few fractures too,” Rout said.
Rout also recalled that campus elections during that period frequently turned violent because of political rivalries. He alleged that Pradhan was attacked during one such election by individuals he identified as Janata Dal supporters after it became apparent that he was likely to win.
“He is alive today only out of sheer luck,” Rout was quoted as saying.
Rise Through BJP Organisation
Pradhan’s years in student politics marked the beginning of his organisational career within the BJP.
Before taking charge as Union Education Minister in 2021, he served as Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas and also held the Skill Development and Entrepreneurship portfolio.
Political observers have often credited him with strengthening the BJP’s organisational network in Odisha over several decades. The party went on to form its first government in the state in 2024, ending more than two decades of Biju Janata Dal (BJD) rule under Naveen Patnaik.
NEET Controversy Brings Past Into Focus
The 1997 protest has resurfaced amid the ongoing controversy over the NEET-UG paper leak.
Thousands of students have recently faced police action in New Delhi while protesting against alleged irregularities in the medical entrance examination. The issue has also taken on a political dimension, with Opposition parties pointing to the irony that the current Education Minister had once led a protest over an alleged examination paper leak.
Opposition Seeks Pradhan’s Resignation
Opposition parties have maintained that Pradhan should resign before any discussion on the NEET issue takes place.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, who leads the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, said a meaningful discussion on the examination controversy could begin only after the Education Minister stepped down.
The government has rejected the demand.
Union Minister and senior BJP leader JP Nadda said the government was fully prepared for a debate on the issue and had nothing to hide. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju also reiterated that the government had been ready for discussions since the beginning of the Monsoon Session.
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