CJP pact with govt poses new test for Congress

Published 25 July 2026 · local

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Live Events as a Reliable and Trusted News Source Addas a Reliable and Trusted News Source Add Now! (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel New Delhi: The Congress and other opposition parties on Saturday said Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation was a major victory for "youth power" and the Modi government's "surrender". At the same time, however, they found themselves on the margins, watching the government and the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) directly reach a settlement on the students' demands, leading to the withdrawal of the agitation.While the government had to sacrifice Pradhan to strike a peace deal with the CJP, the larger political outcome was that the fledgling outfit emerged as the sole claimant to the students' movement—and potentially as a new player in the opposition space, much as the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) emerged from another mass agitation.This also leaves a question mark over the Rahul Gandhi-led Congress' ability to sustain its own campaign over alleged paper leaks, both inside and outside Parliament.

The government is expected to push for the resumption of Parliament from Monday to take up the Bill proposing stringent action against examination paper leaks.While opposition parties pointed out that this was the first time a Cabinet minister in the Modi government had been forced to resign due to public protests, the episode also underscored that it took the nascent CJP to achieve what none of the opposition parties—especially the Congress—had managed against the Modi government over the past 12 years. If a Gen Z-led outfit, by mobilising the key electoral constituency of young people, forced the government to act, the development also highlighted the limitations of the Congress and other opposition parties in mounting sustained mass agitations against the regime.As the CJP celebrated at Jantar Mantar—a venue consciously avoided by the Congress' top leadership, including the Gandhis, while staging their own protests—Rahul Gandhi told reporters that "it is a victory of the youth" and that "the Congress Party's idea was to wholeheartedly support the protest." He said the message for the Modi government was that it "can't continue to run India the way it has been running."Gandhi then added: "Students have two more demands, which we must not forget.

Strict action must be taken against those who brutalise students. Secondly, Narendra Modi must apologise to all the students of the country. Our students' programme will continue. We have long-standing issues, and we will keep raising them."Asked about the opposition's strategy in Parliament, Gandhi said it would be decided in consultation with alliance partners.Earlier, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said the agitating youth had made the Prime Minister and the government "bow before them" and listen to their demands, even as she praised her brother's role in supporting the movement."We in the Congress Party have tried our best to support them in the strongest way possible. Rahul Gandhi has been speaking about the issue of paper leaks and examination reforms for a long time. I also want to compliment him because he raised this issue and inspired the rest of us in the party, the NSUI and the Youth Congress not only to support the students but also to build a movement across the country for students' rights...