India's government backs down: education minister resigns after Cockroach movement

India's education minister Dharmendra Pradhan resigned on Saturday 25 July 2026, after more than a month of protests in New Delhi led by the Cockroach Janta Party movement. President Droupadi Murmu accepted his resignation the same day; Pralhad Joshi takes over the ministry on an interim basis. The unrest began after the leak of the NEET-UG 2026 medical entrance exam paper, which forced around 2.27 million candidates to resit the test on 21 June. The government announced it was dropping charges against protesters and would compensate the families of students who died by suicide. CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke claimed victory for the movement before protesters gathered at Jantar Mantar.