By Shishir Prashant 
PrashantNews
Dehradun: After the downfall of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, the pressure mounted on Uttarakhand Technical Education Minister Dhan Singh Rawat to resign as Congress party on Saturday staged a protest march in Dehradun seeking his resignation.
Senior Congress leaders, including Uttarakhand Congress president Ganesh Godiyal who led the march, were later detained by police after they staged a protest against the alleged paper leak at Uttarakhand Technical University.
“We will continue our agitation till Dhan Singh Rawat ji tenders his resignation,” said Godiyal.
Besides Godiyal, Campaign Committee chairman Pritam Singh and Election Management Committee chairman Harak Singh Rawat, a large number of Congress workers marched from Nanda Ki Chowki to the gates of Uttarakhand Technical University, raising slogans against the state government over the alleged examination paper leak. The protesters later gheraoed the university’s main gate and burnt an effigy of Dhan Singh Rawat, a Congress statement said.
Addressing the gathering, Godiyal described repeated paper leaks in competitive examinations as a “grave attack on the future of the youth.” He alleged that repeated incidents involving examinations such as NEET, Uttarakhand Subordinate Service Selection Commission (UKSSSC) recruitment tests and now the Technical University examination had eroded public confidence in the examination system and raised serious questions over the functioning of the agencies conducting these tests.
Accusing the BJP government of failing to ensure transparency in recruitment examinations and educational institutions, Godiyal demanded a high-level judicial inquiry into the latest paper leak case and strict action against those responsible. He warned that the Congress would intensify its agitation across the state if a fair probe was not conducted.
Earlier, buckling under the pressure of the cockroach Janata Party (CJP), Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan resigned on Saturday that fulfilled the major demand of the striking students at New Delhi.
Immediately after the resignation, the joyous celebrations erupted at Jantar Mantar and other areas of New Delhi where striking students have gathered in large number.
The decision follows weeks of escalating nationwide protests and a high-stakes standoff at Jantar Mantar spearheaded by the CJP.