UNDER PRESSURE, MODI RELEASES LATE NIGHT VIDEO; HIGHER EDUCATION SECRETARY TRANSFERRED

Fri 24 July 2026:

Modi’s late night video was his second statement in a single day, promising fast track courts for paper leaks. However, it did not make any mention of the calls for Pradhan’s resignation both by protesters and the opposition.

New Delhi: Under pressure from the ongoing youth protests on the streets of the national capital of Delhi, which has now spread to other parts of the country, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in a first, released a late-night video – nearly at midnight – on Thursday, July 23. In it, Modi said that “paper leaks are no trivial matter” and that his government had taken several steps to stop paper leaks in the last two months.

Modi’s video statement came after he broke his silence regarding the ongoing youth protests demanding Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation, in his first statement earlier in the day, and said that fast track courts will be set up “to ensure swift and stringent punishment for those involved in paper leaks”. In his video message, Modi said that he has already got a draft of the bill which includes provisions for fast-track courts and stringent punishments, which will be discussed in the cabinet tomorrow and brought to parliament next week.

Neither of the two statements made in a single day, however, made any mention of the growing chorus for Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation coming both, from the streets as well as from the opposition. Despite the brute force unleashed by Delhi Police on protesters who responded to the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP)’s Sansad Chalo march on Monday, the crowds have only swelled at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar. Protests are also being held in other parts of the country.

The video statement

“I know that paper leaks are no trivial matter. It is extremely painful for millions of students and their parents. And therefore, in the past two and a half months since the paper leak incident, numerous steps have been taken. The culprits have been caught, and they are now behind bars,” said Modi in his video statement on Thursday night.

More strict actions against paper leaks to come in tomorrow’s Cabinet! pic.twitter.com/NRysBukk5U

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) July 23, 2026

Following the cancellation of the NEET-UG exam, he said, the government conducted the re-exam last month in the “shortest possible time.”

“And just five-six days ago, on the 19th, the results were also declared. News of the joy among the students who have passed across the country is also pouring in,” he added.

The prime minister said that the government is still not satisfied and that he had issued instructions to set up fast track courts for paper leak cases.

“Today, the departments worked tirelessly and submitted a draft to me late at night. This draft, which includes provisions for fast-track courts and stringent punishments, will be discussed in the cabinet tomorrow. After taking suggestions from cabinet colleagues, it will be given its final shape. And the second week of parliament begins on Monday, at which time efforts will be made to pass this bill in the House at the earliest,” he said.

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https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaAtNxX8fewmiFmN7N22

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Bureaucratic shuffles

Also on Thursday, the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) announced several secretary-level appointments, transfers and in-situ promotions across many key ministries, including the Secretary of the Department of Higher Education.

Naresh Pal Gangwar, a 1994-batch IAS officer of the Rajasthan cadre, has replaced Vineet Joshi, as Secretary in the Department of Higher Education under the Ministry of Education. Gangwar currently heads the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying. Joshi is the new Secretary, Ministry of Panchayati Raj.

It is unclear if this is meant to enthuse students into thinking that change has been effected, as Joshi has been at the helm in education for some time now. He has been Chairman of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), Director General of the National Testing Agency (NTA), Acting Chairman of the University Grants Commission (UGC), and Secretary of the Department of Higher Education. But Gangwar – who was formerly the Animal Husbandry and Dairying Secretary – his education prowess is not immediately clear.

The Modi government had earlier this month moved all four of Union environment minister Bhupender Yadav’s key aides without any explanation of why the sudden move was felt necessary.

Bureaucratic reshuffles is not something that has been an ask of the protesting and now very angry students at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi and across India. They maintain that education minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s exit is the key starting point for any conversation.

Over the past few days and especially after Monday’s incidents of Delhi police brutality have become more widely known, the demand has escalated to asking for home minister Amit Shah’s resignation as the Delhi police directly reports to him, and in some quarters, of prime minister Modi’s resignation too.

Modi’s two statements in a day, and the bureaucratic shuffle come as along with the protests on the streets, the opposition has also kept its pressure on the government both inside and outside parliament.

Two days after he conducted an unprecedented sit-in protest in front of Modi’s house, leader of opposition Rahul Gandhi and other INDIA bloc MPs, barring the DMK, made a symbolic visit to Gandhi Smriti on Thursday to remind the government that the country’s foundation was non-violence. Inside the House, the opposition has said that it cannot accept the government’s offer for a discussion until Pradhan is removed.

In response to Modi’s late-night video, Gandhi in a statement on X said that the students are demanding Pradhan’s resignation.

“Mr. Modi, our students are demanding Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation. Don’t insult their intelligence with this pathetic midnight video,” he said. “1. Sack Pradhan. 2. Punish those who beat students. 3. ⁠Apologise.”