NEW DELHI — As Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan faces intense pressure and resignation demands from Opposition parties over recent examination paper leak controversies, history presents a striking parallel. Nearly three decades ago, long before entering the Union Cabinet, Pradhan was a fiery student leader who hit the streets of Bhubaneswar to protest the exact same issue: a question paper leak.
The 1997 Secretariat Demonstration
In 1997, Odisha was governed by a Congress-led administration under Chief Minister Janaki Ballabh Patnaik. Following reports of an alleged question paper leak in the state, around 1,500 students rallied outside the Odisha State Secretariat in Bhubaneswar. Leading the charge was 28-year-old Dharmendra Pradhan, who was then serving as the National Secretary of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP).
According to accounts from his former university colleagues, what began as a peaceful demonstration quickly escalated when police cracked down on the protesting students. Pradhan was severely beaten during the lathi charge, suffering multiple bone fractures.
Prashant Rout, a junior colleague of Pradhan at Utkal University and currently a college principal, recalled that campus politics in Odisha during that era was intensely volatile. “We were terrified. Pradhan was badly beaten up and suffered fractures. He is alive today out of sheer luck,” Rout noted, recalling how Pradhan faced repeated political attacks during his student movement days.
Roots in Student Activism
Pradhan’s political entry began at the age of 18 when he joined the ABVP, the student wing affiliated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). While pursuing his Master’s degree in Anthropology at Utkal University, he quickly rose through the ranks, serving two terms as ABVP National Secretary between 1994 and 1997 before formally transitioning into the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
His years in student politics laid a strong groundwork for his organizational career within the BJP. Over the decades, Pradhan played a key role in expanding the party’s grassroots base in Odisha, a strategy that ultimately contributed to the BJP forming its first-ever government in the state in 2024.
Full Circle Moment Amid NEET Controversy
The 1997 incident has resurfaced in political discourse as Pradhan finds himself at the epicenter of the NEET-UG examination controversy. With Opposition leaders, including Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi, demanding his resignation before parliamentary discussions proceed, the contrast remains stark: the leader who once took police blows to protest paper leaks is now tasked with resolving national examination integrity as Education Minister.
