In the twenty four hours since Dharmendra Pradhan resigned as education minister, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has posted about cricket, a UNESCO heritage listing, Kargil Vijay Diwas and clips from his monthly radio show Mann Ki Baat.
He has said nothing about Pradhan or the resignation that brought an end to the Cockroach Janta Party led youth protest.
Pradhan announced his exit on X at 2.18 pm on July 25. He took responsibility for the NEET UG paper leak in May, but said he was stepping down so that “anti national forces” could not take advantage of the CJP protest.
He also attacked the Opposition led by Rahul Gandhi, without naming him directly.
What Modi posted instead
In the twenty four hours that followed, Modi made at least nine posts on his X handle, none of them mentioning Pradhan, the resignation or the CJP protest.
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A tenth post came just before this report was published, at 3.02 pm, congratulating Anahat Singh for becoming the first Indian squash player to win the World Junior Championship title.
He wrote, “This accomplishment will further popularise squash among the youth.” The same post appeared on his Facebook page, along with a promo for Mann Ki Baat.
The PM has made no official statement on the resignation or the students protest. Meanwhile, several other ministers have praised Pradhan for his decision to quit.
The first post on Modi’s personal X handle after the resignation, about two hours later, celebrated Sarnath’s inscription on the Unesco World Heritage List.
He called it “a proud moment for every Indian” and said the recognition celebrated India’s civilisational and spiritual heritage, linking Sarnath to Lord Buddha’s message of wisdom and compassion.
Mann Ki Baat dominates the timeline
The rest of Modi’s posts were about the 136th episode of Mann Ki Baat, broadcast on the morning of July 26. He reposted several clips and passages from it.
A hard-earned victory is special, but when it happens at an iconic venue, it adds to the joy!
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) July 26, 2026
This is exactly what happened when our women’s cricket team won at Lord’s! Congratulations to the team and best wishes for their endeavours ahead. #MannKiBaat pic.twitter.com/A08ngF3rwd
One celebrated the Indian women’s cricket team’s Test win at Lord’s, with Modi writing just after noon, “A hard earned victory is special.” Another marked Kargil Vijay Diwas, observed on July 26, paying tribute to soldiers who fought in the 1999 conflict against Pakistan.
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Two of these Mann Ki Baat posts were reposted by Pradhan himself on his X handle. On the official Prime Minister’s Office handle, there were fifteen posts since the resignation, all about Mann Ki Baat content hosted on YouTube and elsewhere.
The episode itself made no mention of the resignation, likely because it had been recorded before Pradhan quit, even though the CJP protests had been going on for weeks.
What Modi said before the resignation
Before Pradhan stepped down, Modi had actually engaged with the protest’s core issues. On July 24, he urged activist Sonam Wangchuk, who had been on hunger strike at the protest site, to listen to his doctors and “regain your old weight as soon as possible” after he broke his fast.
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Late on July 23, Modi posted a selfie style video, an informal format seen as an0 attempt to connect with the protest’s Gen Z base, promising stricter laws to curb paper leaks.
Hours after that video, on July 25, Pradhan resigned. Minister Pralhad Joshi has taken charge of the education portfolio for now.
Party leaders praise Pradhan
While Modi stayed quiet, senior BJP leaders showered Pradhan with tributes. Home minister Amit Shah praised him for implementing the National Education Policy 2020 and reshaping India’s education framework.
Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said Pradhan had worked towards “restoring the civilisational spirit of Bharat.” Several other Union ministers and leaders posted similar messages.
What the protesters demanded
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Pradhan’s resignation was the main “non negotiable” demand of the CJP and of the Congress, led by Rahul Gandhi.
The government also agreed to withdraw cases against protesters injured during police action on their July 20 march towards Parliament, and to compensate the families of students who died by suicide after the paper leak.
Once these demands were accepted, the CJP called off its protest on Saturday.
Rahul Gandhi, who has raised the same demands but did not personally visit the protest site since it describes itself as apolitical, called the forced resignation “a warning” from students and the Opposition to the government.
Congress turns towards Amit Shah
The Congress has now begun targeting home minister Amit Shah. At a press conference on Saturday, Rahul Gandhi held Shah directly responsible for the police action against the CJP march on July 20.
He pointed out that Delhi Police reports to the central government, and said accountability must be fixed “from the organisers of this attack to the implementers.”
Parliament reconvenes on Monday to take up an amendment bill for stricter paper leak penalties. The Congress is pushing to shift the debate towards the police crackdown instead.
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Union minister Nitin Gadkari also faced anger from young protesters at Jantar Mantar, with memes and slogans demanding he step down next over the ongoing controversy about the negative effects of ethanol blended E20 petrol on vehicles.
How the Cockroach movement began
The Cockroach Janta Party traces its origins to a May 15 Supreme Court hearing, where Chief Justice of India Surya Kant remarked that some jobless young people were “like cockroaches” with no place in the legal profession.
The next day, Abhijeet Dipke launched CJP as a satirical social media account, and it grew into a full fledged street movement.
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Kant later said his remark was aimed only at holders of fake law degrees and that parts of the media had misquoted him, but this clarification did little to slow the protest down.
Speaking from the stage at Jantar Mantar just minutes after Pradhan resigned, Dipke thanked the Chief Justice, saying that if he had not called them cockroaches, the movement would never have started.
FAQs
1: Who resigned and when?
Dharmendra Pradhan resigned as education minister on July 25 at 2.18 pm, announcing it on X.
2: Why did Pradhan resign?
He took responsibility for the NEET UG paper leak in May, saying he was stepping down so that “anti national forces” could not exploit the CJP protest
