India’s youth-led Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) movement continued its nationwide protests on Friday despite holding talks with the federal government over its demands for education reforms.
CJP spokesperson Ashutosh Ranka said the government has requested one day to decide on the group’s primary demand—the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
Ranka said demonstrations will continue until the minister steps down, warning that the movement could launch another nationwide protest if no action is taken.
The protests, which began more than a month ago over alleged examination irregularities, intensified this week after police used force to stop demonstrators marching toward Parliament, leaving dozens injured.
Following discussions with government representatives, another CJP spokesperson, Saurav Das, said officials responded positively to two other demands: compensation for families of students who reportedly died by suicide after the cancellation of the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) and the withdrawal of police cases against protesters involved in the Parliament march.
The two sides are expected to meet again on Saturday.
Federal Minister J.P. Nadda confirmed the government would provide an update after internal discussions.
The talks came shortly after activist Sonam Wangchuk ended his 26-day hunger strike, saying he had received assurances that legal action would not be taken against protesters and that Parliament would discuss examination reforms and the NEET paper leak controversy.
However, Wangchuk said he was given no commitment regarding Pradhan’s resignation.
Late Thursday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi released a video promising a tougher law to combat examination paper leaks, acknowledging the issue has caused significant distress for students and their families. The proposed legislation is expected to be introduced in Parliament.
Despite the announcement, protest leaders say they will continue demonstrations until the education minister resigns.
The movement began after the cancellation of this year’s NEET medical entrance examination, which was scrapped following allegations that the question paper had been leaked. Nearly 2.28 million students took the exam before it was cancelled and later re-administered.
Security remains tight around New Delhi’s Jantar Mantar protest site, with a heavy police deployment, mobile internet restrictions in several areas and the temporary closure of 18 metro stations.
The Cockroach Janta Party emerged earlier this year as an online satirical movement before evolving into one of India’s largest youth-led protest campaigns, drawing widespread support on social media and becoming one of the most significant public challenges to the Modi government in recent years.
