Pradhan offered to resign on Day 1 of Jantar Mantar protest: BJP leader's claim

Published 26 July 2026 · local

Madhya Pradesh Minister and BJP leader Kailash Vijayvargiya on Saturday claimed that former Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan had offered to resign on the very

Madhya Pradesh Minister and BJP leader Kailash Vijayvargiya on Saturday claimed that former Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan had offered to resign on the very first day of the student agitation in Delhi. He said the BJP leadership had then asked Pradhan not to step down and to wait until a decision was taken. Pradhan resigned on Saturday, after which the Cockroach Janta Party called off its 36-day agitation over alleged irregularities in examinations and the NEET paper leak. Speaking to reporters in Indore, Vijayvargiya said Pradhan had carried out every responsibility given to him with honesty and dedication.

Read Full Story Vijayvargiya said, "On the first day, as soon as the student agitation began, Pradhan had told the BJP president that if he felt it was necessary, he was ready to resign as education minister." He said the party president had asked Pradhan not to resign at that stage, saying no decision had been taken and that he should neither submit his resignation nor discuss it with anyone until a decision was made. According to Vijayvargiya, Pradhan stepped down immediately once the party later decided that he should resign. He also said, "Pradhan's resignation has foiled the designs of those foreign forces that wanted to destabilise India by spreading violence, as happened in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

I congratulate him for what he has done." Targeting the Congress over its celebration after Pradhan's resignation, Vijayvargiya used a Hindi proverb to say the Opposition party was "beating drums over the birth of a child in a neighbour's house". He said, "What role did the Congress play in the student agitation? The students launched the agitation and the Congress merely stood behind them." He also claimed that after the West Bengal Assembly election, the Opposition had become demoralised and had then found a ray of hope in the Cockroach Janata Party. The minister also asked whether any Congress leader had faced police action during the student agitation.

Vijayvargiya also responded to Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi's allegation that the RSS had acted like "termites" and hollowed out the country's education system. "I feel very sorry for Rahul Gandhi's political ideology and his intellect. I think he still needs to understand what the RSS is," he said, adding that the country was moving in the right direction and crediting the RSS for its contribution. Ends