CJP-Government meeting: Two of three main demands accepted, another meeting scheduled over ‘non-negotiable’ demand of education minister’s removal

A nearly two-hour-long meeting between representatives of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) and senior Union ministers concluded in Delhi on Friday with the government expressing in-principle agreement on two of the protesters’ three key demands, while the contentious issue of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation was deferred for further consultation with the Prime Minister. Union Minister JP Nadda said that the government will hold another meeting with the CJP representatives tomorrow after holding internal discussions on the issues that were raised during Friday’s meeting.

The talks, held at the Constitution Club of India after the CJP insisted on a neutral venue, were attended by Union Health Minister JP Nadda and Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office Dr Jitendra Singh on behalf of the government. Representing the CJP were its Chief Spokesperson Saurav Das and National Spokesperson Ashutosh Ranka. The meeting took place against the backdrop of the ongoing sit-in at Jantar Mantar, where the group has been protesting for weeks over alleged irregularities in the NEET examination system, including paper leaks, and the resulting distress among students.

Speaking to the media after the discussions, CJP Chief Spokesperson Saurav Das said the delegation had clearly conveyed, both verbally and in writing, its three principal demands. “The first demand, which is non-negotiable, is that either Dharmendra Pradhan should resign or the government should dismiss him from the Cabinet. The second non-negotiable demand is compensation of ₹1 crore for every family whose child died by suicide due to this broken and corrupt NEET education system. The third demand is that all our brothers and sisters who were peacefully protesting here but faced police brutality and had FIRs registered against them should have those FIRs withdrawn. No FIRs should be filed against anyone… Furthermore, the government should provide us with a sovereign guarantee in writing that no one will be targeted in the future,” Das stated.

He added that the group had also placed a five-point policy demand charter seeking systemic reforms in the examination process. Das further noted that the government had shown a positive response to the second and third demands. “The government said that, in principle, it accepts these two demands. Therefore, we have been called for another meeting tomorrow,” he said.

CJP National Spokesperson Ashutosh Ranka confirmed that the government gave a very positive response to the demands for compensation and legal protection. “It showed significant in-principle agreement on the demand for ₹1 crore compensation and on the legal cases we raised. This includes not only the FIRs that have already been filed but also our demand for a sovereign guarantee that no FIRs or legal cases will be filed against the protesters in the future… It has agreed to these demands in principle, and we hope that we will soon receive a written agreement in this regard,” Ranka told reporters.

On the resignation demand, he said there was detailed discussion, but the government indicated that the matter would be placed before the Prime Minister and a decision taken soon. “The government has also proposed another meeting tomorrow afternoon,” he added.

Union Minister JP Nadda, briefing the press after the meeting, confirmed that the discussion centred around three main demands. He said, “They had three main demands and five reform suggestions for exams. We have told them that we will meet them again tomorrow afternoon and tell them about the discussion we had among the Government.”

The CJP has made it clear that its protest at Jantar Mantar will continue until the resignation demand is met, even as the government has signalled readiness for further dialogue. A second round of talks is scheduled for Saturday afternoon, where the Centre is expected to convey its formal position after internal consultations.

This was the second meeting of Nadda with Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) Chief Spokesperson Saurav Das and National Spokesperson Ashutosh Ranka in New Delhi. The CJP agreed to the dialogue after the government reportedly accepted two of their conditional demands: that no legal action would be taken against peaceful protesters and that adequate compensation would be provided to the families of students affected by the recent exam irregularities. However, the CJP remains firm on its principal demand, seeking the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.

The meeting came after Sonam Wangchuk ended his 26-day hunger strike upon receiving a written assurance from the Union government on the NEET examination issue and reforms to the country’s competitive examination system.

Notably, the Modi government has already approved a new bill providing stricter punishments for leaks of question papers and setting up of fast-track courts for speedy trial of such cases. The bill contains amendments to the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, the anti-paper leak law enacted in 2024. In a rare selfie-style video posted late last night, PM Modi had said that the bill will be presented in Parliament next week.

Written by OpIndia Staff
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