CJP meeting with govt lasts 2 hours, both sides share their version. Who said what

The government on Friday held talks with the ‘Cockroach Janta Party’ for the second time amid ongoing protests at Jantar Mantar over exam irregularities.

The Abhijeet Dipke-led ‘Cockroach Janta Party’ (CJP), which has managed to get the government hold meeting with it twice on its demands amid the massive Jantar Mantar protest over exam irregularities, said on Friday that Centre has sought time till Saturday afternoon to deliberate on their key ask for education minister Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation.

CJP spokespersons on Friday held a two-hour long meeting with Union ministers JP Nadda and Jitendra Singh amid the intensifying protest at Delhi's Jantar Mantar, seeking government accountability over irregularities in key national examinations, particularly the alleged paper leak in crucial medical entrance exam NEET-UG. Track July 24 CJP Jantar Mantar protest updates here

Who said what after CJP-govt meet

After meeting the Union government representatives — ministers JP Nadda and Jitendra Singh — the CJP claimed that the government had sought time till Saturday afternoon to deliberate on their demand for education minister Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation. After the nearly two hour long meeting CJP's national spokesperson Ashutosh Ranka also claimed that the Government was positive on their other two demands which included compensation for suicide victims of the NEET leak and no FIRs against protesting students.

Addressing reporters after the meeting, Ranka said the government had asked for time to consider the demand and expressed hope that Pradhan would be removed from office.

"The government has asked for time till tomorrow afternoon on our demand for Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation. We hope the government will remove him soon," Ranka was heard saying in a video of his interaction with media persons shared by news agency ANI.

Ranka also told reporters that government said that the Prime Minister would be informed about this demand and that a decision would be taken soon.

The group has also asked for ₹1 crore compensation for families of those who committed suicide after the cancellation of the NEET test on May 3.

In a post on X after the meet, CJP said, “After talks with the government:– The central government has expressed its agreement to provide compensation to the families of the deceased students and to withdraw the FIRs registered against the protesters, but we will accept nothing less than the resignation of Dharmendra Pradhan. We have given the government 24 hours to consider this.”

Union minister JP Nadda said after the meeting that Centre heard their demands and conveyed that they will get back to the CJP. "We will again meet on Saturday," he said.

"The meeting went on for almost two hours...They had three main demands and five suggestions for exam reforms. We have told them that we will meet them again tomorrow afternoon and tell them about the discussion we had among the government," Nadda said.

People aware of the details told HT the government has not made any assurances except that the demands for compensation and filing of charges will be “discussed.”

“There should be no interpretation made of the government’s decision to meet them again on Saturday… if they want to discuss reforms that’s put effort into identifying issue that need to be addressed. Issues of prestige cannot overshadow discussions,” said a senior party leader.

The CJP became an overnight sensation in May after remarks attributed to Chief Justice of India Surya Kant comparing certain unemployed youth and social media activists to "cockroaches" and "parasites" during a court hearing.

Turning the remarks that many youngsters described as an insult into a badge of honour, Boston University-graduate Abhijeet Dipke created its website and social media accounts a day after the CJI's remarks on May 15. Within days its Instagram page had amassed more than millions of followers, far surpassing the followers of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s governing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on the platform.

The protest intensified last weekend after climate activist Sonam Wangchuk was allegedly “forcibly” removed from the protest site amid his indefinite hunger strike and admitted to Safdarjung Hospital by authorities amid deteriorating health condition.

On Monday, July 20, scores turned up at Jantar Mantar and areas around on CJP's call for march to Parliament as Monsoon Session kicked off there with PM Modi's customary address in which he said facts and logic leave no room for “disruption”.