Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Congress and Shiromani Akali Dal on Saturday termed Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation as a victory for the youth.
AAP leader and Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema said, “Resignation of Dharmendra Pradhan is a powerful indictment of youth power,” and the BJP has bowed before it.
“Hope this leads to real reforms - revamping the education system, fixing exam leaks, and sweeping changes for students. Inquilab Zindabad!” Cheema said in a post on X.
Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan resigned on Saturday amid mounting pressure triggered by the CJP’s sit-in at Jantar Mantar since June 20, demanding accountability over the alleged irregularities in the competitive examinations.
In Chandigarh’s main commercial complex area, a large number of students and youth gathered in the evening, and danced and celebrated following Pradhan’s resignation.
AAP MP Malvinder Singh Kang, in a post on X, said students had shown the country “what real democratic power looks like” through their peaceful protests.
Congress and SAD also termed Pradhan’s resignation as a victory for youth, but at the same time they took on the Bhagwant Mann government in Punjab over alleged paper leaks in the state.
Punjab Congress president Amrinder Singh Raja Warring said, “While the union minister had been forced to resign, Punjab Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains was still in office and he must also go, for the repeated paper leaks in Punjab.” Asserting that the fight will go on in Punjab, Warring, in a statement, said the Congress will hold both the minister and Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann to account for the paper leaks.
Warring also congratulated party leader Rahul Gandhi, saying he led from the front “against the authoritarian and arrogant government that was otherwise refusing to budge”.
Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) senior leader Bikram Singh Majithia said moral responsibility has finally been fixed and asserted that the time has come to hold the Bhagwant Mann government accountable for the paper leaks that had allegedly taken place in the state.
“After Aam Aadmi Party formed the government in Punjab, several examinations, including the Naib Tehsildar recruitment, JE recruitment, PSTET, PSEB, PPSC, PSSSB, and recently the Baba Farid University Pharmacy Officer recruitment, had been surrounded by controversies,” he alleged.
Punjab BJP chief Kewal Singh Dhillon also targeted the Mann government.
“(Arvind) Kejriwal ji, now tell us—when will you demand resignations from your (Punjab) ministers responsible for the repeated paper leak cases in Punjab? Why are you silent in Punjab when you lecture on ethics in Delhi? Punjab’s youth also deserve answers,” Dhillon said in a post on X.
SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal also demanded accountability from Kejriwal, and, in a post on X, wrote, “Now, it’s time for you to answer Punjab’s youth. 4.5 years, 6 exam scams and 5 lakh lives impacted. Zero accountability! @AamAadmiParty, @AAPPunjab when will you sack your ministers?”