India's Education Minister Dharmandra Pradhan said on Saturday he had resigned from his position, handing a major victory to youth protesters nationwide who demanded that he quit to take responsibility over examination paper leaks.
The minister announced his resignation on X just as police fired tear gas to scatter young protesters in the Indian capital, hours before their leaders were set to hold another round of talks with ministers to push for the move.
"Considering the situation that has arisen at Jantar Mantar and across the country, so that anti-national forces do not take advantage of this situation ... I have sent my resignation letter to the Prime Minister," Pradhan wrote in his post.
"I deeply respect the aspirations, feelings, and legitimate expectations of the country's youth."
Cheers erupted among the thousands of protesters who have been rallying in central Delhi and elsewhere as the news spread.
However, the founder of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) said two more demands must be met before the protest can end.
The group said families of students who died by suicide after the examination paper leaks should be compensated with Rs1 crore each.
In a post on X, the CJP said Pradhan’s resignation demand had been met, while compensation for families and a guarantee that no action would be taken against student protesters remained pending.
The movement’s founder also demanded action against police officers involved in Monday’s crackdown on protesters.
Pradhan's resignation is "a victory of peace, patience & perseverance," activist Sonam Wangchuk, who was on a hunger strike for 26 days to support the youngster's movement, wrote on X.
Youngsters at the Jantar Mantar site shouted "Jai Hind", a patriotic slogan meaning "Victory to India", as the national anthem played on loud speakers and sweets were distributed among the crowd. At least 1,000 police officials stood nearby guarding the area, according to Reuters journalists at the site.
The leak of the high-profile medical college entrance test paper in May, which led to the cancellation of results and the government ordering a retest, affected 2 million young people.
Supporters of India's youth-led "cockroach" movement had been protesting since June, but anger boiled over since police on Monday injured dozens of students, launching baton charges and firing tear gas to deter crowds of protesters marching on parliament.
The protests also reflect anger over job scarcity, corruption and government accountability.
"Young generation is here. This is win for the constitution,” protester Tluanga Ralte said, walking with a copy of the Indian constitution at the protest site after the minister's resignation. "We are not a lazy generation."
Federal authorities even on Saturday restricted access to the internet and to 18 metro stations to try to limit the protest in the capital, the latest day of such restrictions.
Pradhan is only the second minister to resign following a scandal since Modi came to power in 2014. MJ Akbar resigned as junior foreign minister in October 2018 to fight allegations of sexual harassment made by more than a dozen women during India's #MeToo movement.
Students, youth activists and opposition supporters had in recent days staged protests in the states of West Bengal, Telangana, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, holding placards demanding Pradhan's resignation and boycotting classes in some places.
