By Saurabh Sharma and Aftab Ahmed
NEW DELHI, July 25 (Reuters) – India’s education minister resigned on Saturday, handing a major victory to youth protesters who had demanded he quit to take responsibility for examination paper leaks, and who erupted in celebration on news of his departure.
“We have done it,” said Abhijeet Dipke, founder of the Cockroach Janta Party that led the protests, to loud cheers at the Jantar Mantar protest site in New Delhi.
India’s biggest street protests of recent years have become a political flashpoint, posing one of the biggest challenges to Prime Minister Narendra Modi as politicians joined youngsters’ calls to demand action.
“Considering the situation that has arisen at Jantar Mantar (protest site) and across the country, so that anti-national forces do not take advantage of this situation … I have sent my resignation letter to the Prime Minister,” Dharmendra Pradhan wrote in his post.
“I deeply respect the aspirations, feelings, and legitimate expectations of the country’s youth.”
The minister announced his resignation on X just as police fired tear gas to scatter young protesters in New Delhi, hours before their leaders were set to hold another round of talks with ministers.
Youngsters at the Jantar Mantar site shouted “Jai Hind”, a patriotic slogan meaning “Victory to India”.
Thousands of supporters of India’s youth-led “cockroach” movement had been protesting since June, but anger boiled over since police on Monday injured dozens of students, launching baton charges and firing tear gas to deter crowds of protesters marching on parliament.
The protests, led largely by young people and triggered by discontent over leaks of question papers for high-stakes entrance exams, reflect anger over job scarcity, corruption and government accountability.
Federal authorities even on Saturday restricted access to the internet and to 18 metro stations to try to limit the protest in the capital, the latest day of such restrictions.
(Reporting by Saurabh Sharma Bhawika Chhabra in New Delhi; Editing by Clarence Fernandez and Susan Fenton)
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