Pralhad Joshi Given Additional Charge of Education Ministry After Dharmendra Pradhan’s Resignation

NEW DELHI: Union Minister Pralhad Joshi has been assigned the additional charge of the Ministry of Education after President Droupadi Murmu accepted the resignation of Dharmendra Pradhan from the Union Council of Ministers with immediate effect.

According to an official statement issued by Rashtrapati Bhavan, the President, acting on the advice of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, accepted Pradhan’s resignation under Article 75(2) of the Constitution. The President also directed that Pralhad Joshi, a Cabinet Minister, be entrusted with the Ministry of Education in addition to his existing portfolios.

Pradhan said he resigned in the interest of students and to ensure that the ongoing protests over alleged irregularities in the NEET examination were not exploited by “anti-national forces.”

Joshi will continue to hold charge of the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy while additionally overseeing the Education Ministry. He represents the Dharwad Lok Sabha constituency in Karnataka and has previously served as Union Minister for Coal, Mines and Parliamentary Affairs. He is also the President of the International Solar Alliance.

The resignation follows weeks of nationwide protests over alleged irregularities in competitive examinations, with students demanding greater transparency, accountability and reforms in the examination system.

Pradhan stepped down hours before the third round of talks between the Centre and the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP). Ahead of the meeting, CJP leaders had described his resignation as a “non-negotiable” demand.

Following the talks with Union Ministers J.P. Nadda and Jitendra Singh at the Constitution Club in New Delhi, the CJP announced that it had withdrawn its 37-day-long agitation at Jantar Mantar after Pradhan’s resignation and after receiving government assurances on its remaining demands.

Addressing a press conference, CJP Chief Spokesperson Saurav Das said, “Cockroach Janta Party declares that we withdraw the agitation in good faith, with the understanding that the agreed-upon terms will be executed within the agreed-upon timelines.”

Das also warned the incoming Education Minister, stating, “The youth have warned whoever becomes the Union Education Minister that if their issues are not addressed, they will come back to Jantar Mantar and demand accountability from the government.”(Agencies)