Protesters are demanding the resignation of education minister Dharmendra Pradhan
Published Fri, Jul 24, 2026 · 10:37 AM
INDIAN Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a fresh bid to calm mounting anger over examination paper leaks as students prepared nationwide protests on Friday (Jul 24), with demands growing for the education minister to step down.
In a rare move, Modi posted a video on his X account in the late hours of Thursday, saying the paper leak was “not a trivial matter” and “extremely painful” for hundreds of thousands of students and their parents. He said the culprits had been caught and his government is pushing for “fast-track courts and stringent punishments.”
His address came as crowds continued to swell around Jantar Mantar — the main protest site in Delhi — and did little to dissuade the Cockroach Janta Party from its call to hold nationwide peaceful protests on Friday.
The students are demanding the resignation of Dharmendra Pradhan over a series of failures in India’s education system, including leaked test questions in the nation’s largest medical entrance exam.
The protest is part of a rare show of defiance against Modi, who has governed India for 14 years and recently solidified his position in parliament with victories in key state elections.
“Nothing is more important than the welfare and future of our youth,” Modi, 75, said in his address. “Those who try to harm the future of our youth will not be spared.”
In response, CJP leader Abhijit Dipke posted a meme on X showing a man locking a small gate next to an open doorway, appearing to mock Modi’s promised “strict actions” as ineffective or cosmetic. CJP is also now calling for Modi to resign.
Late on Thursday, the government also moved to shake up the top bureaucracy in the Education Ministry, in one of the most significant administrative changes since the crisis erupted.
Despite those efforts, CJP spokesman Saurabh Das said the group’s “demands remain the same.”
“This protest will continue until those demands are met, no matter what,” he said.
In a poster shared on its official social media accounts, the group called for coordinated demonstrations under the slogan “Every District. One Day. One Demand.”
Monday marked the biggest show of force by the students, with many directing their anger at Modi in a sign of broader discontent with his government. Police used blockades, tear gas and batons to prevent protesters from marching on parliament, with dozens injured on both sides in ensuing skirmishes.
The demonstrations were among the largest since the 2020–21 farmer protests. They reflect “a deeper problem: opportunities for educated young Indians haven’t kept pace with the country’s economic growth,” Chetna Kumar, a Bloomberg analyst wrote in a note Friday.
“Competition for professional degrees and government jobs is intense, turning entrance exams into high-stakes gateways to upward mobility,” she wrote. “Repeated paper leaks, recruitment irregularities and delays have eroded confidence in the system.”
Sonam Wangchuk, a prominent activist whose hunger strike since last month over the examination scandal helped galvanise the youth movement, finally ended his strike on Thursday.
In a post on X, Wangchuk said he had decided to end the fast after long negotiations on various conditions and because of concerns over the possibility of violence.
He said he would explain those conditions in a separate video and appealed to supporters to ensure the movement remained peaceful and not allow violence of any kind anywhere.
The protests have grown into the biggest youth challenge to Modi since he came to power in 2014. Opposition parties have backed the movement’s demands and disrupted the monsoon session of Parliament, which began this week.
The movement has also drawn support from some of Bollywood’s biggest stars, including Salman Khan, Alia Bhatt and Kareena Kapoor, who said on social media that it was inspiring to see students unite for a cause. REUTERS
