Former Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan received a warm welcome from NDA leaders in Parliament on Monday, with BJP MPs putting up a show of solidarity two days after his resignation amid nationwide protests over the NEET paper leak issue.
BJP MPs assembled near the Makar Dwar entrance ahead of Pradhan's arrival. As he entered the Parliament complex, colleagues escorted him inside, greeted him and presented him with a ceremonial cap in a symbolic gesture of support. The MPs also raised 'Dharmendra Pradhan zindabad' slogans.
Meanwhile, Opposition MPs led by Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra staged a protest in the Parliament complex over the alleged use of excessive force against students during demonstrations over the NEET paper leak.
Raising slogans of "Shiksha Chori" (theft of education), the MPs demanded an apology from Union Home Minister Amit Shah over what they described as "police brutality" against peaceful protesters.
The contrasting scenes unfolded as Parliament prepared to take up the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, 2026, which seeks to strengthen the country's anti-paper leak law in the wake of the NEET controversy that led to Pradhan's resignation.
Pradhan stepped down as Union Education Minister on July 25 after weeks of sustained protests over the NEET paper leak, saying the issue was not one of "individual prestige".
In a post on X after announcing his resignation, Pradhan said he had stepped down in the larger interest of the party and the nation, adding that national interest would always remain above personal considerations.
His resignation, a rare instance of a senior Union minister stepping down amid sustained public protests and political pressure, came hours before the third round of talks between the Centre and the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), which had led the agitation.
