Pralhad Joshi Takes Charge After Dharmendra Pradhan’s Exit: What Happened On Day 1 As Education Minister?

Pralhad Joshi took charge of the Education Ministry on Sunday, stepping into a portfolio facing intense student anger over the NEET paper leak and examination irregularities. He was given the additional charge a day earlier after Dharmendra Pradhan resigned from the Union Council of Ministers. Joshi said he would first understand the ministry’s functioning, ongoing work and key decisions before deciding what comes next.

Pralhad Joshi begins with a closer look at education ministry

As per reports, the new minister arrived in Delhi from Karnataka on Sunday morning and began attending meetings with senior officials. Joshi thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for giving him the responsibility, saying it was assigned to him “based in trust and belief”.

Education is “a new area of work” for him, Joshi said, adding that he was speaking to officials to understand the department before taking further steps. “The department is quite big and thus I will prioritise understanding it first and then delivering,” he told reporters.

Pralhad Joshi takes charge while retaining key portfolios

The change followed President Droupadi Murmu’s acceptance of Pradhan’s resignation on Saturday. The Rashtrapati Bhavan said, “The President of India, as advised by the Prime Minister, has accepted the resignation of Shri Dharmendra Pradhan from the Union Council of Ministers, with immediate effect, under clause (2) of Article 75 of the Constitution of India. Further, 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.”

Along with Education, Pralhad Joshi will continue to handle Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, and New and Renewable Energy. During the previous government, he served as Union Minister for Coal, Mines and Parliamentary Affairs.

Pralhad Joshi inherits ministry amid NEET protest fallout

Pradhan’s exit came after weeks of student protests over the NEET paper leak. He said he resigned in the interest of students and to prevent the protests over alleged examination irregularities from being exploited by “anti-national forces.”

The protests culminated in the Centre accepting the key demand of the Cockroach Janta Party-led movement. With Pralhad Joshi now at the helm, the Education Ministry faces the immediate task of dealing with the fallout of the examination controversy while the new minister gets familiar with its functioning.

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