Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan resigned following intense student protests over the cancelled May 3 NEET-UG exam, with Pralhad Joshi taking additional charge.
AAP leaders Arvind Kejriwal and Bhagwant Mann welcomed Pradhan's resignation, calling it a victory for democracy and youth power.
The BJP, Congress, and Shiromani Akali Dal demanded Punjab Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains resign over six alleged paper leaks in the state.
Dharmendra Pradhan Resigns: BJP, SAD Demand Punjab Minister Harjot Singh Bains' Resignation
Following Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation over the NEET-UG row, the BJP and SAD demand Punjab Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains step down over alleged paper leaks, which CM Bhagwant Mann denies.
Summary
Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan resigned following a month-long student protest led by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP). Union Minister Pralhad Joshi took additional charge of the education department.
Pradhan stepped down weeks after the May 3 NEET-UG exam was cancelled and a re-exam ordered over a paper leak, the publication reported.
AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal called the resignation a "big win for democracy" while Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann said gen-Z made a "stubborn government" bow.
"Gen-Z possesses sharp insights and energy, and we only need to ensure this potential is channelled constructively," Mann said on Sunday.
Opposition Demands Accountability
Political pressure is mounting in Punjab as the BJP questions the AAP administration and Kejriwal over their failure to take similar action.
"Dharmendra Pradhan has already resigned. He demonstrated the highest standards of accountability and morality," BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla said on Sunday.
"Manish Sisodia and Arvind Kejriwal, who had said that if there was a paper leak at their end, they would resign, today 6 to 7 paper leaks have occurred in Punjab," Poonawalla said, calling Punjab Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains "shameless".
"They have leaked and sold papers. Even sanitation workers, who do some of the most essential work, have not been made permanent or given proper employment... The Punjab Education Minister should resign....," Ravneet Singh Bittu told ANI. Bittu recently resigned as Union Minister from the NDA cabinet ahead of the Punjab Assembly elections.
The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) also demanded Bains' resignation, alleging six paper leaks including the Punjab Teacher Eligibility Test, Class 12 English exam and pharmacy officer test.
Punjab Congress president Amrinder Singh Raja Warring, Delhi Cabinet Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa and Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini also supported the demands. The Congress vowed to continue its fight against exam irregularities in Punjab.
Mann Denies Allegations
Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann denied the claims, asserting that not a single competitive exam paper has leaked during the four-and-a-half years of AAP rule in the state.
Addressing an event to honour 882 government school students who passed the NEET-UG re-exam, including Ludhiana-based topper Aryan Gupta, Mann confirmed cheating at two places but said all accused were jailed.
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"They were scanning the papers digitally with a Bluetooth pen and sending them out. They were getting the answers they wanted from outside. Ten minutes after the paper started, the students inside who were cheating were also caught and those who were getting the papers done from outside, who were charging ₹ 3-5 lakhs for a paper, they were also caught and put in jail," Mann told ANI.
Police have arrested 21 people linked to an inter-state cheating racket operating during the pharmacy officer exam.
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