Before Dharmendra Pradhan resigned as Union Education Minister, the Centre had explored the possibility of resolving the standoff with the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) by offering to shift him to another ministry, according to sources familiar with the negotiations. The proposal was conveyed during talks between senior Union ministers JP Nadda and Jitendra Singh and representatives of the CJP, sources said. The meeting took place on July 20 at Nadda's residence, the same day police launched a major crackdown on protesters participating in the Parliament march organised by the CJP.
According to sources, the government suggested transferring Pradhan to a different portfolio in an attempt to break the deadlock. However, CJP negotiators Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka reportedly turned down the offer, reiterating that the protest would end only if Pradhan resigned from the Union Cabinet. The student-led movement had consistently maintained that removing Pradhan from the Education Ministry alone would not address its concerns. Protest leaders insisted that only his resignation would be acceptable. Sources said the Union ministers reminded the CJP delegation that decisions on appointing ministers and allocating portfolios fall exclusively within the Prime Minister's authority. Despite that, the CJP refused to soften its position.
According to people aware of the discussions, the negotiators also believed that accepting anything short of Pradhan's resignation could provoke a strong backlash from protesters, many of whom had been demonstrating for weeks over the examination paper leak controversy. The impasse continued until Saturday, when Pradhan resigned as Education Minister, just hours before the scheduled third round of talks between the government and the CJP. Following his resignation, the organisation announced that it was withdrawing its protest. Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi had also argued that merely reassigning Pradhan to another ministry would not satisfy students or the Opposition. He had repeatedly demanded that Pradhan be removed from the government altogether. "Dharmendra Pradhan is a symbol of the mess in the education system. He must go," Gandhi had said during the protests.
In his resignation letter, Pradhan said he had stepped down to prevent what he described as "anti-national forces" from exploiting the nationwide agitation over examination paper leaks. In a two-page note posted in Hindi on social media, Pradhan said his decision was intended to ensure that the protests did not harm national unity or affect students' futures. He wrote that he had submitted his resignation to the Prime Minister so that students could return their focus to education without becoming caught in prolonged legal or political disputes.