Centre Offered Portfolio Change Before Minister's Resignation, Party Rejected: Sources

In a series of events leading to the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Saturday, the central government had proposed a change in his portfolio as a compromise solution to the party leading the student protests, according to government sources.

The government had hoped that the party and student leaders would accept Pradhan being divested of the education portfolio while remaining a cabinet minister, sources said.

During discussions with the party, Union ministers J P Nadda and Jitendra Singh suggested that students could end their protest with a new education minister, while all other subsidiary demands of the party would be met, top sources told The Indian Express.

“The government had made that proposal. But the protesters were adamant that Pradhan should resign,” a government source said.

Sources in the party confirmed that the ministers stated that changes to the cabinet are the prerogative of the Prime Minister, but a reshuffle could occur and the education minister could be replaced. “However, the party was not ready to accept it,” a party source said.

Party Hardens Stand

Government sources said the party’s two demands on compensation and withdrawal of FIRs related to the protests were already accepted. “Usually during protests, except in cases of serious damage to public property, FIRs are always withdrawn. We had also initiated the procedure to provide adequate compensation to the families of NEET aspirants who died by suicide following examination leaks and cancellations,” a source said.

The government was hopeful that the party would agree to a change in the ministry, another source added. However, a long gap in establishing communication channels led to an impasse, with the party hardening its stance on Pradhan’s resignation. With protesters remaining adamant and public pressure mounting, along with the failure of multiple rounds of dialogue, the government finally conceded to the demand.

Pradhan announced his resignation on Saturday afternoon, following which the party officially called off its 36-day protest in the national capital.