Political career defined and undone by question paper leaks

NEW DELHI: Nearly three decades ago, Dharmendra Pradhan rose to national prominence by leading a student protest against a question paper leak. Today, another student movement over a question paper leak controversy has brought his tenure as Union Education Minister to an end, marking a striking turn of events in his political career.

In 1997, Pradhan, then the national secretary of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), led a major protest against an alleged question paper leak during the Congress government in Odisha. The agitation brought him national attention and established him as a rising student leader.

As part of the protest, Pradhan led a march of more than 1,500 students to the Odisha Secretariat and the official residence of then Chief Minister Janaki Ballabh Patnaik. The demonstration attracted nationwide attention.

During the protest, Odisha Police carried out a lathi charge on the demonstrators, in which Pradhan suffered a fractured jaw. The agitation is also seen as a turning point that helped the BJP strengthen its presence in Odisha. At the time, Pradhan was a student of anthropology at Utkal University.

Pradhan served as the ABVP's national secretary from 1994 to 1997, and the 1997 agitation is widely regarded as the movement that paved the way for his rise within the BJP.

Nearly 30 years later, Pradhan has stepped down as Union Education Minister following another student-led protest over an examination paper leak, bringing his political journey full circle.