Union Minister Jitendra Singh on Thursday said the government is ready to hold talks with the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) either at the residence or office of Union Health Minister JP Nadda, asserting that the government is open to discussions.
“Wherever you want we can discuss, whether at Nada ji’s home or office,” Singh said. He also said that the government has approached the CJP four times so far.
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“I and Union Health Minister JP Nadda will be present for the discussions. Slowly, through discussion, we will move towards the solution,” Singh said, adding: “We are not standing on prestige.”
Describing this awareness-raising as part of the government’s ongoing efforts, he added, “This is part of a series of ongoing steps that the government is taking for the welfare of students.”
Appealing to the APC leadership to participate in the talks, Singh said, “With all humility, I appeal to all of you to come and hold discussions.”
“I again request them to come for discussions and let us find a solution,” Singh said.
CJP responds
Addressing the crowd at the protest site, CJP spokesperson Ashutosh Ranka responded to Jitendra Singh’s remarks, saying the CJP had asked the Center to hold talks at Jantar Mantar but the proposal was rejected.
“Minister Jitendra Singh tweeted that they have approached us four times and that the CJP can speak anytime it wants. We asked them to come to Jantar Mantar. They refused. They asked us to come to JP Nadda’s house,” Ranka said.
He then turned to the crowd and asked if the CJP should go to Nadda’s residence for talks. After the crowd answered with a resounding “no,” Ranka said: “Then we will not go. The audience is the one who decided.”
Earlier, CJP spokesperson Sourav Das said that the police had again contacted the party and informed it that Union Minister JP Nadda wanted to hold talks and invited its leaders to his residence. However, the Justice and Development Party rejected the invitation.
“We will not go to anyone’s house or office. The Janata Darbar is being held here, and if ministers want to talk, they should come to the people. The discussion should take place at Jantar Mantar,” Das said.
He added that the party was ready to meet at a neutral location near Jantar Mantar if the government had security concerns at the protest site, and said he was still waiting for a response.
Questioning the Centre’s intention, Das said there was no point in holding “meaningless discussions” unless the government was ready to consider the party’s demands.
“Our time is valuable. Thousands of people are still participating in the protest, and we have to deal with that as well. The government must clarify whether it really intends to deal with us,” he said.
(With inputs from Soumya Lakhani)
