A two-member delegation of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), which met two Union Ministers on Friday (July 24, 2026), reiterated their demand for the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, asserting that it was “non-negotiable”. They also sought a public apology to the protesting students who were “brutally thrashed” on July 20.

Also read: Jantar Mantar protest updates on July 24, 2026

In a meeting with Union Ministers J.P. Nadda and Jitendra Singh, the CJP also demanded ₹1 crore compensation for the families of those who committed suicide after the cancellation of the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) on May 3, its spokesperson Saurav Das said.

The two-hour meeting held at the Vithalbhai Patel House was aimed at finding an amicable solution to protests over the NEET paper leak and other irregularities in the exam system.

Mr. Nadda said the Ministers heard their demands and conveyed that they will get back to the CJP. “We will again meet on Saturday,” the Minister said.

“We clearly conveyed, both verbally and in writing, our three main demands. The first demand, which is non-negotiable, is that either Dharmendra Pradhan should resign or the government should dismiss him from the Cabinet. The second demand is compensation of ₹1 crore for every family whose child died by suicide due to this broken and corrupt NEET education system. The third demand is that all our brothers and sisters who were peacefully protesting here and faced police brutality and had FIRs registered against them – all those FIRs must be withdrawn. No FIRs should be filed against anyone. The government should give a sovereign guarantee in writing that no one will be targeted in the future,” Mr. Das said.

He said that the government responded positively to the second and third demands. “The government said that, in principle, they accept these two demands. Therefore, we have been called for another meeting tomorrow,” he said.

He further said that wherever these protests are taking place, there has been a single-point demand that Mr. Pradhan must accept accountability and resign or be removed from the Cabinet.

“There is no room for negotiation on this. We have conveyed this to the government. The government has told us that it will speak to its top leadership and get back to us tomorrow at 3:30 p.m.,” he added.

This was the third official meeting between the CJP and the government.

Mr. Nadda held two back-to-back meetings with Mr. Das and Ashutosh Ranka on July 20 at the Minister’s residence.

The CJP had earlier declined the government’s invitation to hold talks at a Minister’s residence or office, insisting that discussions should take place at a neutral venue.

The CJP has maintained that its protest at Jantar Mantar will continue until the Education Minister resigns.