Dear Readers,This week, after the students’ protest march to Parliament, I was invited by a news channel to offer my thoughts on whether Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan could resign after the protest. My answer was nuanced. I argued that Pradhan might step down.I must confess I was not entirely correct in my assessment. Possibly, my understanding of how politics works, or should work, is a little old-school.Pradhan is under an unprecedented spotlight these days as the students’ protest against paper leaks, initiated by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) and backed by the opposition, escalates. The government has so far refused to concede the demand of the CJP and other opposition parties, including the Congress, for Pradhan’s resignation, though it has changed the Higher Education Secretary.Why is the entire government rallying behind Pradhan at a time when many believe the mess in the education sector makes his continuance in office untenable?For the record, no Minister has resigned in the Modi government since it came to power in 2014 in response to public pressure or mass agitation. In July 2021, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan was dropped in a Cabinet reshuffle amid criticism of the government’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. Vardhan, a doctor by profession, had already begun to be sidelined within the government, and three years later, he announced his retirement from politics.Barring that sole instance, the Modi government has, as a matter of policy, ruled out ministerial resignations, whether it was Human Resource Development Minister Smriti Irani during the Rohith Vemula protests or Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar during the 2020 farmers’ protest. There was no major demand for Tomar’s resignation; the focus was on repealing the three controversial farm laws, which the Modi government agreed to only as the 2022 Uttar Pradesh Assembly election approached. What the government also refused was the demand for the resignation of the then Union Minister of State for Home Affairs, Ajay Mishra Teni, after a vehicle from his convoy mowed down and killed four protesting farmers in Lakhimpur Kheri. His son, Ashish Mishra, was later arrested after sustained public pressure, but the Minister remained in office.The only voluntary resignation I recall was that of Harsimrat Kaur Badal, then Union Minister of Food Processing Industries from the NDA ally Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), in September 2020, in protest against the farm Bills. Ending a 24-year partnership with the BJP, the SAD walked out of the alliance, fearing it would lose its core base of farmers in Punjab ahead of the Assembly election less than two years away.Why has this government been so reluctant to let a Minister take moral responsibility by putting in his papers? Is it because there is a perception that such a move would dent Prime Minister Modi’s carefully cultivated image as a strong leader (as Manish Anand argues in this interesting piece for Frontline)? Or is there a fear that one resignation could trigger demands for more, setting off a chain reaction?The example of the UPA government, particularly UPA II, comes to mind. Covering the ruling Congress at the time, I remember the tension within the party rank and file when Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan, now with the BJP, resigned in November 2010 following the uproar over the Adarsh scam.The BJP had accused the Congress government in Maharashtra of diverting defence land meant for Kargil War heroes and widows to real estate interests. Later, I heard many within the Congress say that Chavan was more sinned against than sinning.The other episode was then Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil changing clothes three times while appearing before the media in September 2008 after the Delhi serial blasts. Patil defended himself, saying, “Let the media question the policies, not the clothes”. But the visuals spread rapidly across television and social media and came to define him. After the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks two months later, he resigned, taking moral responsibility. Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh also paid a political price after he visited the attack site with his son Riteish Deshmukh and filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma, who was reportedly exploring the possibility of making a film on the attacks.There were many others: Ashwani Kumar (Congress, former Union Law Minister), A. Raja (DMK, former Union Telecom Minister), and Natwar Singh (Congress, former Union External Affairs Minister). Many later felt the Congress leadership had become overly sensitive to such controversies. Internal factionalism also played a role, especially in Maharashtra, where there were multiple chief ministerial aspirants. Even so, resignations did happen under the UPA, and relentless media scrutiny contributed to that culture.Veteran Congress leader A.R. Antulay resigned twice from high-profile offices: as Maharashtra Chief Minister in January 1982 after the Bombay High Court found him guilty of arbitrarily allocating cement quotas to builders in exchange for donations to trusts he controlled, and as Union Minister for Minority Affairs in December 2008 over his remarks on the killing of Maharashtra ATS chief Hemant Karkare during the Mumbai terror attacks.Even in the NDA government headed by Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Union Minister of Surface Transport R. Muthiah resigned in April 1998 after facing corruption charges.And who can forget Dilip Singh Judev’s famous, or infamous, line: “Paisa khuda to nahin, par khuda ki kasam khuda se kuchh kam bhi nahin” (”Money is not God, but I swear it is hardly any less”). Judev, then Minister of State for Environment and Forests, resigned in November 2003 after a sting operation caught him accepting cash in exchange for mining rights in Chhattisgarh.Senior BJP leader Shanta Kumar resigned as Union Minister in 2003 after the party’s defeat in the Himachal Pradesh Assembly election. His exit followed criticism of the Prem Kumar Dhumal-led State government and public congratulations to the Congress. The Dhumal camp alleged that Kumar’s wife had campaigned against BJP candidates.In 2002, LJP leader Ram Vilas Paswan resigned from the Vajpayee government in the aftermath of the Gujarat riots. At the time, however, there was also speculation that he was unhappy at not being given the Railway Ministry, which had gone to Nitish Kumar.The resignation that seems most relevant today is Nitish Kumar’s own. He stepped down as Railway Minister in August 1999, taking moral responsibility for the Gaisal train collision in West Bengal, which killed nearly 290 people.No discussion of political accountability is complete without Lal Bahadur Shastri, who resigned as Railway Minister in November 1956, taking responsibility for the Ariyalur train accident in Tamil Nadu that claimed more than 140 lives. He had, in fact, offered to resign earlier that year after a train accident in Mahbubnagar, but Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru persuaded him to stay.Are we living in an era where resignation is passé, no longer regarded as a way to restore a government’s credibility? Is it seen as a sign of weakness? Has politics become more invested in displays of strength than in accepting responsibility?The Prime Minister has released a video message promising fast-track courts and stringent punishment for those responsible for the paper leaks, and the government is holding yet another round of talks with the protesting students. Yet there is still no indication that any Minister will resign.Possibly, the present dispensation believes resignations are no longer meaningful instruments of political morality. Why is the Modi government willing to risk its standing among young people to retain one Minister? Is Pradhan indispensable, or does the government fear that one resignation would only fuel demands for more?Let us know what you think.Until the next newsletter,Anand MishraPolitical Editor,FrontlineCONTRIBUTE YOUR COMMENTS