- Bhagabat Prasad Mohanty was Odisha Education Minister during the 1997 Plus Two paper leak scandal
- Dharmendra Pradhan led 1,500 students protesting the 1997 Odisha Plus Two paper leak outside Secretariat
- Pradhan was severely injured in police lathi-charge but continued to lead the student agitation
Bhagabat Prasad Mohanty, once a towering political leader, was the Education Minister under the Janaki Bhallabh Patnaik-led Congress government in Odisha. Once a driving force behind the now-defunct Praja Socialist Party, Mohanty later joined the Congress and was elected to the Odisha Assembly twice in the 1980s and the 1990s. It is his second stint as an MLA that has some resonance with what is happening right now.
In 1997, the Odisha board examinations for 12th or "Plus 2" as it is called in the state, saw allegations of a paper leak. Standing right outside the state Secretariat at Unit-5, Bhubaneswar was a young man among 1,500 others to protest the alleged paper leak and seek accountability from both Mohanty and Patnaik.
He was Dharmendra Pradhan.
Nearly three decades later, as Union Education Minister, Pradhan resigned amid protests over irregularities in the NEET-UG 2026 examination.
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The paper leak in the Plus Two examination administered by the Council for Higher Secondary Education (CHSE) in 1997 prompted widespread student anger. Prashant Rout, Principal of RMD Degree College and Pradhan's junior at Utkal University, told NDTV that nearly 1,500 students, mobilised by the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), gathered for a protest outside the Secretariat.
"Dharmendra Pradhan was at the forefront of the movement. We staged a peaceful protest against the Odisha government outside the Secretariat. Around 1,500 students had joined us," Rout told NDTV.
Pradhan, then serving as National Secretary of the ABVP and emerging as a prominent figure in student politics, led the demonstration and was on the verge of formally joining the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
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The protest began peacefully but turned violent when police carried out a lathi-charge. Rout recalled that Dharmendra Pradhan was brutally beaten and suffered multiple fractures. Despite the injuries, his involvement in the agitation continued.
"We were terrified. Dharmendra Pradhan was brutally beaten during the lathi-charge. He suffered multiple fractures, but that did not weaken his resolve," Rout told NDTV.
Following the protest, the state government engaged with student leaders. A committee was formed to address the issue and the entire leadership of the CHSE -- including the chairman and secretary -- was replaced.
The government also organised a state-level seminar on reforms in Plus Two education and forwarded suggestions to the Chief Minister. No formal statements were issued to ministers by the protesters. The subsequent examination proceeded without reported leaks, and the system was described as having changed at that level.
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This episode marked a significant point in Pradhan's early political trajectory.
In 2026, the situation has reversed in key respects. Pradhan, now a two-time Union Education Minister, faced weeks of protests demanding his resignation over the NEET-UG examination held on May 5 and related irregularities, including issues in the CBSE's on-screen marking process.
The protests, spearheaded by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), began with a sit-in at Jantar Mantar on June 20. On Saturday, Pradhan submitted his resignation to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In a letter posted on his X account, written in Hindi, he stated that he had taken responsibility for the NEET paper leak from the outset. He cited disturbance over events of the previous ten days and expressed resolve not to allow the country's youth to be caught in confusion.
"I hold deep respect for the aspirations, sentiments, and rightful expectations of the youth of this country. Realising the dreams of India's young generation has been the moral resolve of our political and social life. I express my gratitude to Hon'ble Prime Minister for the opportunity given to me to serve the nation under his visionary leadership," Pradhan wrote.
Pradhan said his decision aimed to prevent "anti-national forces" from exploiting the situation at Jantar Mantar and elsewhere, preserve national unity, avoid legal complications for students, and enable them to focus on studies.
The government had earlier handed the investigation to the CBI, cancelled the original examination, conducted a re-examination, and announced that future NEET-UG exams would use Computer-Based Test (CBT) mode.
Results declared on July 16 were described by Pradhan as satisfactory, with success for many students from underprivileged backgrounds. A draft bill for stricter punishments for paper leaks was approved on Friday, following a midnight video message from the Prime Minister.
CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke described Pradhan's resignation as the first victory in their 36-day agitation but said the movement would continue until other demands were met. These include payment of Rs 1 crore to families of students who died by suicide over the issue, no legal action against protesters, and punitive measures against police personnel accused of atrocities.
(With inputs from Dev Kumar Ghosh)
