The Opposition on Saturday described Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation as “a huge step towards reshaping our education system”, and that it constituted the defeat of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “stubbornness”.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi should apologise to the protesting students and take action “against those guilty of violence against students”.

The leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha extended his congratulations “to every young person, every student who took to the streets and stood firm to protect democracy, the Constitution, and their future”.

Pradhan said he submitted his resignation to Prime Minister Narendra Modi so that “anti-national forces” do not take advantage of the ongoing protests, and so that no student “gets embroiled in legal battles”.

Pradhan resigned after weeks of youth demonstrations at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar led by the Cockroach Janta Party political campaign, with protesters demanding his removal over alleged irregularities in competitive examinations.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said the “voice of students” had finally “reached the threshold of arrogant power”.

Calling it “the victory of millions of youth”, he said it was also “the defeat of Mr Modi’s stubbornness”, and renewed the demand for the prime minister to apologise to students and act against those responsible for the police crackdown.

Former Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal described the resignation as a “big win for democracy” at a time when many believed that governments don’t listen to citizens.

Aam Aadmi Party leader Manish Sisodia said Pradhan “did not voluntarily submit his resignation” but was forced out by students’ protests, ANI reported.

“Modi had to bow before GenZ,” he said in a subsequent social media post.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee reiterated her support for the student movement, saying students from several states had taken to the streets and that she had joined the protest “to express solidarity with the students”.

She alleged that the authorities had cracked down on peaceful demonstrators because they were “afraid after seeing the students’ and young people’s movement”.

Trinamool Congress leader Abhishek Banerjee said that those in power “must realise that the power of the people is greater than any office or authority”.

“One can love their country deeply without having to love the government of the day,” he said.

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav remarked: “This is not a resignation, it’s a revolution!”

He said the protests had forced the Bharatiya Janata Party “to bow down”, calling the resignation “a major victory for the youth”, PTI reported.

Yadav added that examinations must be made more robust to prevent paper leaks and that young people should have clear pathways to employment.

Nationalist Congress Party (SP) leader Sharad Pawar described the resignation as “a major victory for the unity of the youth power in the country”, saying the students' month-long protest had demonstrated “the power of democracy”.

Communist Party of India (Marxist) general secretary MA Baby congratulated students and youth, but said the resignation was “only the first step”. He called for the National Testing Agency to be disbanded, cases against protesters to be withdrawn and action against police personnel involved in the crackdown.

Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Yadav called it the “victory of truth, rights, struggle and justice”, adding that “many questions remain unanswered”. Uddhav Sena MP Sanjay Raut said the resignation showed that “Modi-Shah are not invincible”.

Former Odisha chief minister and Biju Janata Dal president Naveen Patnaik congratulated “the young people of India, especially Gen Z” on their victory.

“Accountability and sensitivity to public opinion are integral values of a strong democracy,” he said. “Nobody is above the will of the people.”

Written by Sara Varghese. Edited by Neerad Pandharipande.

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