The government on Friday held talks with the Janta Cockroach Party for the second time amid the ongoing protests in Jantar Mantar over examination irregularities.
The Abhijit Debki-led Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), which has managed to get the government to meet it twice over its demands amid the massive Jantar Mantar protest over examination irregularities, said on Friday that the Center had sought time till Saturday afternoon to deliberate on their main demand for the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
CJP spokespersons on Friday held a two-hour meeting with Union ministers JP Nadda and Jitendra Singh amid intense protests at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar, seeking to hold the government accountable over irregularities in key national exams, particularly the alleged paper leak in the crucial NEET-UG medical entrance exam. Track updates on CJP Jantar Mantar protests on July 24 here
Who said what happens after the meeting of the government and the General People’s Congress Party?
CJP
After meeting with representatives of the Union government – Ministers JP Nadda and Jitendra Singh – the CJP claimed that the government sought time till Saturday afternoon to deliberate on their demand for the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. After the nearly two-hour meeting, CJP national spokesperson Ashutosh Ranka also claimed that the government was positive on its two other demands which included compensation to suicide victims due to NEET leak and no FIRs against the protesting students.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Ranka said the government had asked for time to consider the request and expressed hope that Pradhan would be removed from his post.
“The government has asked for time till tomorrow afternoon to respond to our request for Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation. We hope that the government will sack him soon,” Ranka was heard saying in a video of his interaction with the media published by news agency ANI.
Ranka also told reporters that the government said that the Prime Minister will be informed about this request and that a decision will be taken soon.
The group has also requested $Rs 1 crore compensation to families of suicides after cancellation of NEET exam on May 3.
In a post on
government
Union Minister JP Nadda said after the meeting that the Center listened to their demands and conveyed that they would return to the CJP. He added: “We will meet again on Saturday.”
“The meeting lasted for about two hours… and they had three main demands and five proposals to reform the exams. We told them that we would meet with them again tomorrow afternoon and tell them about the discussion we had between the government,” Nada said.
People familiar with the details told HT that the government had not given any assurances except that compensation claims would be “discussed” and charges would be filed.
“There should be no explanation for the government’s decision to meet them again on Saturday… If they want to discuss reforms, an effort should be made to identify the issues that need to be addressed. Prestige issues cannot overshadow the discussions,” a senior party leader said.
The rise of the CJP
The CJP caused an overnight sensation in May after remarks attributed to Chief Justice of India Surya Kant in which he compared some unemployed youth and social media activists to “cockroaches” and “parasites” during a court hearing.
About the remarks, which many young people described as an insult to a badge of honor, Boston University graduate Abhijit Debke created his website and social media accounts the day after the ICJ’s statements on May 15. Within days, her Instagram page had amassed more than millions of followers, far surpassing the followers of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party 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.
On Monday, July 20, dozens showed up in Jantar Mantar and surrounding areas calling on the CJP to march to Parliament as the monsoon session began there with Prime Minister Modi’s usual speech in which he said facts and logic leave no room for “disruption”.
Tear gas and latis as well as heavy security lines prevented protesters from marching towards Parliament and they have been monitoring the Jantar Mantar protest site ever since. Amid the tensions, which kept internet services suspended in areas around Jantar Mantar, the government held talks for the second time on Friday – a meeting that came hours after Prime Minister Narendra Modi dropped a surprise assurance through a late-night video message about the government taking action on paper leaks, especially NEET.
This confirmation was followed by climate activist Sonam Wangchuk, who ended his hunger strike, and who took the decision after meeting Union ministers JP Nadda and Jitendra Singh at Medanta Hospital. Wangchuk, who joined the RJD protest on June 28, was on a hunger strike to push protesters’ demands for the government to be held accountable for examination irregularities as well as the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
The CJP, represented by activists Sourav Das and Ashutosh Ranka, agreed to the dialogue after the government accepted two of their conditional demands: not to take any legal action against peaceful protesters and provide adequate compensation to the families of students affected by recent examination irregularities.
However, the CJP remains steadfast on its main demand, which is to seek the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
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