Security forces used tear gas to dispel agitators gathered at Jantar Mantar on Monday. (Express photo)THE demand for the Education Minister’s resignation is “political” and there’s no “succumbing” to it; the lapses behind the NEET leak have been fixed; admissions under the three largest entrance examinations, NEET retest, CUET and JEE Main, are largely on track; and the Government is open to a debate on the issue in Parliament.This was the “official” sense at the senior level of the Government Tuesday, a day after the Jantar Mantar protests, which started with the NEET leak controversy, intensified leading to a police crackdown in the heart of the capital.In conversations with The Indian Express, senior government functionaries said the Centre has no intention of yielding to demands for Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation, arguing that it has neither denied the lapses nor attempted to evade responsibility.Also Read | Opposition rallies behind protesters, Rahul Gandhi holds sit-in outside PM residence“There was a problem. We have said this on record and have taken responsibility on record. The government is not running away from it,” a senior government functionary said.The government’s argument is that the focus should now be on ensuring a smooth academic session rather than reopening a controversy it considers administratively settled.Also Read | After CJP protests, India is angry. Why are we still asking the wrong questions?Officials cited the progress on NEET, CUET and JEE Main admissions. “The majority of students have gone back to campuses,” the functionary said, adding that Delhi University’s admission of around 72,000 students is an indicator that academic activity has resumed.The Centre’s assessment is that those continuing to lead the protests are no longer the “primary stakeholders” affected by the examination process.Story continues below this ad“We are not saying people should not protest. In a democracy, people have every right to protest,” another senior functionary said. “But who is raising the issue, how it is being raised and who is behind it are different questions.”Also Read | Hanumankind attends CJP's Jantar Mantar protest as Indian rap community backs NEET stirThat distinction also underpins the government’s refusal to entertain demands that the Education Minister step down. Asked whether the minister should offer to resign on moral grounds after two paper leak controversies during his tenure, a senior functionary, privy to the government’s deliberations, repeatedly described the demand as “a political question”.“It is a political question,” he said, declining to answer directly. “Should we succumb to political pressure?” he asked, arguing that the government had already accepted responsibility and taken corrective measures.Also Read | ‘Will keep coming back’: CJP protester returns to Jantar Mantar from hospital“The system was compromised by people we trusted. We are not the paper mafia. We were let down by people within the system we trusted. We did not hide the leak. We accepted responsibility and tried to fix it,” he said.Story continues below this adEven as it refuses to concede the demand for resignation, the government says it is not opposed to a discussion in Parliament. “There should be debate. There should be dialogue in the House. The government is fully prepared to answer every question,” the official said.An award-winning journalist with 19 years of experience reporting on politics, governance, and public policy, Ritika Chopra is currently Resident Editor of The Indian Express, Mumbai. She oversees the edition’s editorial coverage and reporting on the city and the wider region. Previously, she has served as Chief of the National Bureau (Government) and National Education Editor in New Delhi, leading coverage of government policy and education. Ritika has closely tracked the Union Government, with a focus on politically sensitive institutions such as the Election Commission of India and the Education Ministry, and has authored investigative reports that have prompted official responses. Ritika joined The Indian Express in 2015. Previously, she was part of the political bureau at The Economic Times, India’s largest financial daily. Her journalism career began in Kolkata, her birthplace, with the Hindustan Times in 2006 as an intern, before moving to Delhi in 2007. Since then, she has been reporting from the capital on politics, education, social sectors, and the Election Commission of India. ... Read More Tags:Jantar Mantar