Pralhad Joshi gets additional charge of education ministry after Pradhan's exit

President Droupadi Murmu on Saturday accepted the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and assigned the additional charge of the Education Ministry to Union Minister Pralhad Joshi.

The move came hours after Pradhan announced that he had submitted his resignation to Prime Minister Narendra Modi amid mounting pressure over the NEET-UG 2026 controversy and the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP)-led student agitation.

In an official statement, the Rashtrapati Bhavan said the President had accepted Pradhan's resignation with immediate effect under Article 75(2) of the Constitution.

"As advised by the Prime Minister, the President has directed that Shri Pralhad Joshi, Cabinet Minister, be assigned the charge of the Ministry of Education, in addition to his existing portfolio," the statement said.

Joshi currently heads the Ministries of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, and New and Renewable Energy. He will now oversee the Education Ministry in addition to these responsibilities until further arrangements are made.

A five-time Lok Sabha MP from Dharwad in Karnataka, Joshi returned to the Union Cabinet after the 2024 general election.

He has previously served as Parliamentary Affairs Minister and Coal Minister and is regarded as one of the BJP's senior organisational leaders.

Born in November 1962 in Karnataka, Joshi became associated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) at a young age before rising through the ranks of the Bharatiya Janata Party.

Pradhan's resignation followed weeks of nationwide protests over alleged irregularities in the NEET-UG examination and the CBSE's on-screen marking process. The CJP, which had been staging a sit-in at Delhi's Jantar Mantar since 20 June, made Pradhan's resignation its principal demand.

Following negotiations with the Centre, the government accepted the protesters' key demands, including Pradhan's resignation, the withdrawal of FIRs against protesters and compensation for families of students who died by suicide after the NEET cancellation. The CJP subsequently called off its month-long agitation.