Kerala Minister Janeesh: PM Modi Must Answer for 90 Student Deaths in Exam Scandal

Kerala Minister for Youth Affairs O.J. Janeesh on Sunday (July 26, 2026) said the resignation of former Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan does not close the controversies surrounding examination irregularities. He demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi answer for the deaths of 90 students that Janeesh said were driven to despair by repeated examination-related scandals.

Speaking to the media, Mr. Janeesh stated that the country witnessed question paper leaks on five different occasions and that Mr. Pradhan should have accepted moral responsibility and resigned immediately after the first such incident.

“Instead, the resignation was deliberately delayed, with Narendra Modi challenging students, youth and the nation as a whole. The resignation has finally come only because the government had no option in the face of mounting public outrage,” he said.

Responding to criticism from Left intellectuals over Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s absence from the recent Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) protest, Mr. Janeesh said many of those raising the question were themselves absent from the protest venue and from other demonstrations organised in support of the cause.

He said the agitation was not conducted under the banner or framework of any single political party but was a broad-based movement involving people with diverse political views.

“If the Congress had formally entered the protest venue, there was a concern that the movement would be branded as a party-led agitation, which could have weakened the larger public campaign. That is why the Congress chose to extend its full support from outside rather than participate directly,” Mr. Janeesh said.

He maintained that the Congress had stood firmly behind the protesters while respecting the non-partisan nature of the movement.