A two-member delegation of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) met Union Health Minister J P Nadda on Monday after the government opened a channel of communication with protesters who attempted to march to Parliament over alleged examination irregularities.
The delegation, comprising CJP chief spokesperson Saurav Das and national spokesperson Ashutosh Ranka, met Nadda at his residence for around 10 minutes and handed over a written memorandum listing the group’s demands.
According to the CJP, Nadda said he would hold internal discussions with the government leadership and sought time before responding to the demands, which include the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
The CJP representatives met the health minister as part of the government’s outreach to the protesters, news agency PTI reported, citing official sources. They said discussions within the government on the protest were underway and a formal statement could be issued.
In a post on X after the meeting, Das said: “After waiting for more than two hours, @AshutoshRanka and I just met J P Nadda ji at his residence for 10 minutes. While we submitted a written letter with our demands, he has assured us that he will meanwhile speak internally. We are in that process. There is news of mass detention etc.”
The memorandum submitted to Nadda sought three immediate measures: the release of Sonam Wangchuk without restrictions on his movement, the resignation or removal of Dharmendra Pradhan, and Rs 1 crore compensation for every NEET aspirant who died by suicide following the alleged NEET 2026 paper leak.
The letter also urged the Delhi Police to “immediately stop using brute force on peaceful protesters”, saying the demonstration was peaceful.
Ranka, later in a post on X, said that Nadda had asked for time to discuss the demands with the government leadership.
“Nadda has requested some time to align with their leadership on the following demands: Immediate release of Sonam Wangchuk, Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation, Rs 1 crore compensation for all NEET aspirants who committed suicide,” he wrote.
Ranka also said the first contact from the administration came late on Sunday night when the Deputy Commissioner of Police, New Delhi, reached out to establish communication. According to him, discussions gathered pace from around 6 am on Monday, and by about 11:45 am, both sides agreed on a meeting with the health minister.
“We finally met Nadda ji 10 mins ago and he is checking with the leadership internally wrt our demands. @DelhiPolice should immediately stop using brute force on peaceful protesters,” Ranka said in another post.
Earlier in the day, thousands of protesters gathered near Parliament Street and attempted to march towards Parliament, demanding accountability over the alleged examination irregularities and Pradhan’s resignation.
Police stopped the march near Parliament Street after putting up multiple layers of barricades. Protesters refused to disperse despite police action, including a lathicharge and the use of tear gas, and continued raising slogans seeking the education minister’s resignation.
(With inputs from agencies)
