Ministers To Hold Talks With CJP Today As Students' Protest Intensifies: Sources

New Delhi: Union Minister are set to hold high-level talks with a delegation of Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) at 12:30 pm on Friday, sources said. This comes hours after CJP called for a nationwide peaceful protest on Friday, calling for Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation over NEET-UG exam paper leak and other examination irregularities.

CJP-led students' protest has gathered momentum, with protesters taking to streets in Mumbai as well after weeks of protests at Jantar Mantar, Delhi.

CJP's Call For Nationwide Protest

The CJP's call for nationwide protest comes with the slogan, “Every District. One Day. One Demand.” The party asked people to secure permission from local police before protesting, and to stop peacefully and not push barricades when they are stopped by police.

CJP has also issued a list of dos and don'ts for the protest:

CJP Protest

The youth-led Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) has been camping at the Jantar Mantar from June 6, demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.

The movement drew heightened attention when it got support from famous environmentalist Sonam Wangchuk, who went on an indefinite hunger strike at the protest site. After 20+ days of fasting, he was forcibly moved to a hospital by police. 

CJP Founder Abhijeet Dipke has stressed that the “protest will not end until Dharmendra Pradhan is sacked by PM Modi”.

The protest turned violent on Monday (July 20) during the ‘Sansad Chalo’ movement when protesters refused to disperse and “violated prohibitory orders”, police said. During the scuffle, many protesters and police personnel suffered injuries.

On Wednesday (July 22), the wave of protest reached Mumbai as several CJP supporters went on streets, demonstrating against examination irregularities.

Sonam Wangchuk Ends Hunger Strike

In a huge development, environmentalist Sonam Wangchuk agreed to break his 26-day hunger strike on Friday after Union Minister JP Nadda read out a list of assurances to him at the Medanta Hospital in Gurugram, Haryana. Union Minister Jitendra Singh also stood beside Wangchuk as he ended his fast.

Here are the three assurances made by Nadda to Wangchuk:

1. The government is positive on not registering cases against those protesting peacefully at Jantar Mantar in Delhi and those participating in the march to Parliament on July 20
2. The government has assured discussion to find solutions for paper leaks and educational reforms for exams in the Parliament 
3. The government is also positively considering suitable compensation for the suicide victims of recent NEET paper leaks