Jaipur: Rajasthan Congress Saturday welcomed the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, calling it a victory for students protesting exam paper leaks and for the Opposition’s pressure led by Rahul Gandhi.Following the resignation of Pradhan, District Congress Committees across the state took out victory processions at district headquarters on Saturday, dedicating the development to students, their struggle, and the campaign led by Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi that, the party claimed, forced the government to relent.Former Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot said Prime Minister Narendra Modi was forced to bow to public pressure after backing Pradhan for a long time. “Today, democracy has won and dictatorship has lost,” Gehlot said on X, alleging the Centre tried to shield the Union minister but could not withstand sustained protests. Referring to the agitation, he claimed history would remember the use of force against protesters.Rajasthan Congress president Govind Singh Dotasra said the resignation showed “dictatorship cannot stand before people’s power,” calling it a triumph of students, justice and truth after over a month of protests at Jantar Mantar. He credited Gandhi, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and the party for raising the issue from the streets to Parliament and demanded an apology from Modi over alleged police action during the protests.
Dotasra also sought sweeping reforms in the National Testing Agency, a transparent examination system, withdrawal of cases filed against protesting students, and a stringent national anti-paper leak law, citing Rajasthan’s previous Congress govt’s legislation on the subject.Rajasthan Leader of Opposition Tikaram Jully said, “Better late than never,” urging the Centre to accept the resignation immediately and seeking an apology to students who were allegedly lathi-charged, tear-gassed and faced police action. Jully also targeted the BJP govt in Rajasthan, alleging it denied paper leaks and diluted cases by treating them as cheating incidents.
