Dharmendra Pradhan

Gandhi said Prime Minister Modi was "so youth-hostile" that he could not seek the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan despite repeated allegations of examination paper leaks

Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan met Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday, as thousands tried to march to Parliament as part of the Cockroach Janta Party's (CJP) protest call to demand the former's resignation over alleged examination irregularities. Officials said Pradhan met Shah at his office in the Parliament House complex. It was not immediately known what transpired in the meeting. The CJP, led by its founder Abhijeet Dipke, has been protesting at Jantar Mantar since June 20, demanding Pradhan's resignation over alleged irregularities in the NEET examination, reforms in the examination system and justice for the affected students. The outfit had given the call for the "Chalo Sansad" march on Monday, the opening day of Parliament's Monsoon session. Thousands converged at Jantar Mantar on Monday morning and tried to march towards Parliament, pushing through barricades and braving police batons and tear gas. Security has been tightened across New Delhi district, w

Around 20,000 people had gathered at and around Jantar Mantar on Sunday night, even before the scheduled mobilisation for the protest.

The education ministry has ordered a probe into NCERT's decision to blacklist a firm which was tasked with paper supply for textbooks and failed to meet the timeline, sources said. Bafna Global Venture Private Limited moved the Delhi High Court on June 24 citing a blacklisting order by NCERT issued on June 22 barring it for two years from participating in the procurement process of National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT). While nobody from the NCERT appeared for the high court hearing, the court granted impunity to the firm from coercive action till further orders. The court also restrained the NCERT from invoking over Rs 6 crore bank guarantee furnished by the paper supplier. "Taking serious note of reports that NCERT failed to effectively defend its decision to blacklist a paper supplier before the Delhi High Court, Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has directed strict action against the officers responsible for the lapse," a source said. "The minister h

The use of military aircraft to transport examination papers has renewed debate over when civilian alternatives must first be exhausted before deploying armed forces resources

Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan chaired a high-level review meeting on Thursday with senior officials from the Ministry of Education, state governments, the National Testing Agency (NTA) and higher education institutions to assess preparedness for the NEET-UG re-examination scheduled for June 21. The NEET-UG for admissions into medical courses took place on May 3 this year but the NTA cancelled it on May 12 amid allegations of a paper leak. The CBI is currently investigating this matter. Addressing the meeting, Pradhan emphasised the importance of maintaining the "highest standards of integrity, transparency and efficiency" in the examination process and directed all concerned authorities to remain vigilant and fully prepared for the free and fair conduct of the re-examination. The minister said officers designated by the ministry would reach all states to coordinate activities related to the re-examination process and report to the command centre headed by the NTA ...

Students and government job aspirants assembled here on Friday for a protest led by Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke over alleged examination irregularities, with demonstrators pressing for the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. Candidates preparing for teaching, medical, revenue, administrative, and other government recruitment examinations were among the protesters who gathered at the Eco Garden here since morning. The demonstration is part of a nationwide campaign launched by the CJP, which had earlier held demonstrations in Delhi and Pune. Additional Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) Babloo Kumar told PTI that the permission for the programme was granted after an application was submitted by an individual and not by any organisation. "The application was submitted by a teacher, Vivek Kumar, late Thursday evening. After completing the required procedure, permission was granted," he said. The officer said reports claiming police ha

CJP drew thousands to Jantar Mantar over exam-related concerns, but many supporters remain cautious about embracing the fledgling movement

Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke said on Sunday his agitation over alleged irregularities in examinations and recruitment tests will not stop until Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan resigns. Dipke also said their protest at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on Saturday was largely successful, with around 7,000 people participating in it, and added that the movement would now expand nationwide. The CJP founder reached his residence in the MIDC Waluj area in Maharashtra's Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district on Sunday morning and was welcomed by his family members. Later, speaking to reporters, Dipke said the agitation undertaken by the Cockroach Janata Party will not stop until Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan resigns. ''The protest we staged (at Jantar Mantar) was successful, as 6,000 to 7,000 people attended it. This agitation will go nationwide. We won't step back till Dharmendra Pradhan resigns,'' he asserted. "We will roll out a further action pla

The Congress on Saturday said Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan must take responsibility for the lapses in CBSE on-screen marking (OSM), calling his continuation in office an insult to lakhs of students and their families. Pradhan's continuation in office only speaks of his desire for power, the Congress remarked and accused him of being "incompetent" in running a "compromised ministry". In a post on X, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said after weeks of denying any wrongdoing and claiming that all is well with its COEMPT's On Mark portal, the CBSE has finally been forced to acknowledge COEMPT's incompetence. He cited media reports in this regard that claimed that after initial denial, the CBSE invited an ethical hacker to plug gaps in the IT system. "It began with a public acknowledgment of the data breach (months after the cybersecurity vulnerabilities were reported by 19-year-old Nisarga Adhikary), and has now become even more painfully clear, as reports emerge that

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Congress intensifies its attack on the government over the CBSE OSM controversy, demanding accountability and the resignation of the education minister

Centre is considering deploying IAF to transport NEET-UG question papers on June 21 as part of enhanced security measures after the leak controversy triggered the cancellation of the earlier exam

The Education Ministry reviewed security and preparedness measures for the NEET-UG 2026 re-examination amid continuing scrutiny over the integrity of the exam process

The move comes after several days of complaints over portal crashes, login failures, inaccessible links and payment errors

The Centre has directed major social media platforms to proactively identify and remove networks spreading fake paper leak claims and unverified exam-related content

Dharmendra Pradhan reviewed NEET-UG re-exam arrangements, stressing tighter security, improved logistics, and stronger coordination with local authorities

Amid the NEET paper leak row, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi should immediately sack Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan or take personal accountability, and alleged that the "BJP-RSS nexus" has destroyed India's education system. The Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha said the hard work of 22 lakh NEET aspirants has gone to waste. "The whole country knows that two days before NEET, its question paper was being distributed on WhatsApp. Dharmendra Pradhan ji says he has nothing to do with the matter. The (Parliamentary) Committee had made recommendations but he put it in the dustbin on the pretext that opposition people were on the committee and that it was of no use," Gandhi said in a video statement. "The truth is that you (government) have damaged the core of India. This is a nexus of the RSS, the BJP and their people that have been installed in universities, vice chancellors and professors, to mint money," the former Congress

The Centre announced a June 21 retest for NEET-UG 2026 and said the medical entrance examination will shift to a computer-based format from next year