The Centre on Friday agreed in principle to two key demands raised by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) during a crucial round of discussions on the ongoing agitation over the alleged NEET-UG examination irregularities. The government, however, sought more time to respond to the outfit's primary demand for the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, with a decision expected by Saturday afternoon.
The nearly two-hour meeting, held at the neutral venue of Vithalbhai Patel House in New Delhi, marked the third official round of talks between the CJP and the government. The discussions are part of continued efforts to resolve the deadlock over the protest that has gripped the national capital in recent days.
Speaking to the media after the meeting, CJP National Spokesperson Ashutosh Ranka said the Centre had requested time until Saturday afternoon to respond to the demand for Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation.
"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 said.
The resignation of the Education Minister has remained the central demand of the CJP, which has accused the government of failing to ensure accountability over the alleged NEET-UG paper leak and other examination irregularities.
Ranka said the government had expressed "in-principle approval" to two other important demands placed by the CJP.
These include financial compensation for the families of NEET aspirants who allegedly died by suicide following the examination controversy and the withdrawal of FIRs and legal proceedings initiated against students and peaceful protesters participating in the movement.
"The government has expressed in-principle approval on the two demands of compensation for families of NEET aspirants who died by suicide and withdrawal of FIRs and legal cases on students," he said.
While no formal announcement has yet been made, the CJP described the government's response as positive and expressed hope that concrete decisions would be announced after the next round of discussions.
Union Health Minister JP Nadda, who led the government's delegation, confirmed that discussions would continue on Saturday.
"The meeting went on for almost two hours. They had three main demands and five reform suggestions for examinations. We have told them that we will meet them again tomorrow afternoon and inform them about the discussions held within the government," Nadda said after the meeting.
Besides Nadda, Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office Jitendra Singh also participated in the discussions.
The CJP delegation included National Spokesperson Saurav Das, Ashutosh Ranka and another youth representative.
Friday's meeting was the third formal interaction between the government and the CJP leadership. Earlier, two back-to-back meetings had taken place on July 20 at the residence of JP Nadda.
However, for the latest discussions, the CJP had refused to meet at a minister's residence or office, insisting that negotiations should be held at a neutral venue. The government accepted the demand, leading to Friday's meeting at Vithalbhai Patel House.
The talks also came just hours after activist Sonam Wangchuk ended his 26-day hunger strike late Thursday night following government assurances on several of his demands, adding fresh momentum to ongoing negotiations over public protests.
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