BJP turns Pradhan into a hero, welcomes him with cap and shawl in Parliament
Former education minister Dharmendra Pradhan feted by BJP MPs after quitting over exam protests; Opposition slams police brutality and seeks Amit Shah’s apology
Dharmendra Pradhan, who resigned as the Union education minister two days ago in the face of prolonged and intense students’ protests in Delhi and across the country, entered the Parliament on Monday (July 27) to a hero’s welcome from his party and alliance colleagues.
In a show of solidarity, BJP MPs received Pradhan at the Makar Dwar, escorted him into the Parliament with slogans of “Dharmendra Pradhan zindabad”, and presented him with a traditional cap and a shawl.
Opposition seeks Shah’s apology
On the other hand, Opposition leaders, led by Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, protested within the Parliament premises over alleged “police brutality” on the protesting students, demanding an apology from Union Home Minister Amit Shah and raising slogans of “shiksha chori” (education theft).
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The party’s Rajya Sabha MP Renuka Chowdhury snubbed Pradhan’s reception with a caustic remark, “They did the same thing (gave a grand welcome) with the rapists of Bilkis Bano. It is their habit.” Eleven men convicted of raping Bilkis Bano and killing her entire family in the 2002 Gujarat riots were released in 2022 for “good behaviour”, and these convicts were greeted with sweets outside Godhra jail.
Exam Bill introduced
All these events unfolded as Parliament prepared to take up the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, 2026, aimed at strengthening the anti-question paper leak law. The Bill was later tabled in Lok Sabha amid Opposition ruckus.
Pradhan’s exit was a rare instance of a BJP minister resigning in the face of protests and mounting political pressure on the government. His exit was a core demand of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP)-led movement in the wake of the NEET paper leak controversy.
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However, Pradhan and the government ensured that he became a “martyr”, with the former posting on X that the decision to quit was to safeguard students’ future and prevent “anti-national forces” from exploiting the nationwide agitation.