Amid the ongoing protests at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar, one demand is echoing the loudest—Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan should resign over the NEET exam paper leak case. Despite massive uproar from the opposition and student organizations, there is currently no hint that Dharmendra Pradhan will be removed from his post.
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The history of governments led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi bears witness to the fact that they do not easily make their ministers resign under pressure from movements or the opposition. In such a scenario, the biggest question arising is why the government still looks so carefree despite this heavy opposition, and what is the real power behind Dharmendra Pradhan’s chair ? Let’s know the complete inside story behind this.
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Among the Top Seven Ministers
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When Narendra Modi became the Prime Minister of the country for the first time in 2014, since then Dharmendra has been among those select seven ministers who have continuously been a part of the government. This special list also includes the names of Rajnath Singh, Nitin Gadkari, Nirmala Sitharaman, Piyush Goyal, Rao Inderjit Singh, and Dr. Jitendra Singh. Stalwart leaders like Home Minister Amit Shah and External Minister S. Jaishankar also joined the Modi cabinet after Dharmendra Pradhan. In his political journey so far, he has handled several very important ministries.
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Long Tenure as Education Minister and Upcoming Records
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Looking at his ministries, he remained the Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister from 2014 to 2021, handled the Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Ministry from 2017 to 2024, was the Steel Minister from 2019 to 2021, and has been continuously handling the responsibility of the country’s Education Minister since 2021.
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Talking about his previous education ministers in the Modi government, Smriti Irani held this post for 2 years and 36 days, Prakash Javadekar for 2 years and 329 days, and Ramesh Pokhriyal for 2 years and 38 days, whereas Dharmendra Pradhan has been holding this post firmly for more than 5 years and 13 days. If he remains in this post for some more time, he will soon break the record of Dr. Murli Manohar Joshi (approximately 6 years and 2 months), who was the Education Minister in Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s government.
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These 5 Major Reasons Hidden Behind Non-Resignation
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Political analysts believe that there are several solid reasons behind Dharmendra Pradhan not resigning:
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Strong Political Grip
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Dharmendra Pradhan is not an imported leader; rather, he has risen from ABVP to reach the post of President of the Bharatiya Janata Party and Bharatiya Janata Party Youth Wing.
RSS and Ideological Background: Due to the changes made in the curriculum—such as including Indian history instead of the history of Mughal rulers and chapters like the emergency—he is considered very close to the Sangh and the party ideologically.
Direct Eye of PMO: In the working style of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, there is a sharp eye on the performance of every minister. If his performance were poor, he would not have remained a minister continuously for 12 years.
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Strategic Shortcomings of the Movement – The internal assessment of the government is that the ongoing protests have been politicized and the protesting factions do not have any solid alternative or alternative plan.
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Not Giving Psychological Advantage – If Dharmendra Pradhan resigns under opposition pressure, this will be the first instance during the Modi government’s tenure when a minister was removed under pressure, which could give the opposition a psychological advantage.
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