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The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) on Saturday, July 25, announced that it was calling off its 36-day nationwide protests after the Union government accepted its demands, hours after the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
Addressing a joint press conference at the Constitution Club of India in New Delhi, Union Ministers JP Nadda and Jitendra Singh appeared alongside CJP spokespersons Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka to announce the outcome of negotiations between the two sides.
“We are ending the protests in good faith,” Saurav Das said, adding that the Union government had agreed to consider the movement’s demands.
Ashutosh Ranka added, “Since all our demands have been accepted, we request the protesters to end the protest with immediate effect and return home safely. We will inform you regarding the future negotiations or strategies but leave the protest immediately as the demands have been accepted.”
The CJP said that the government had conceded to their demands of withdrawing all the FIRs filed against the protesters across the country. They said that the government has agreed to not take any action against the protesters and CJP representatives. According to them, the government has promised to give these assurances in writing by July 28.
Saurav said that another round of talks between the CJP and the Union government would be held in four weeks.
On compensation for families of students who died by suicide following the NEET paper leak, Nadda said the Union government’s “sympathies are with the families”, and ex gratia compensation would be decided in accordance with existing rules. The CJP has demanded Rs 1 crore compensation for each affected family.
Nadda also announced that the Union government would not initiate legal action against any of the protesters.
The announcement came shortly after Dharmedra Pradhan submitted his resignation to the Prime Minister, saying that he was resigning so that “anti-national forces should not take advantage of the situation.”
Speaking to the media, activist Sonam Wangchuk, who had sat on a hunger strike earlier, congratulated the youngsters and CJP and others who had taken part in the protest. “We need to work on reforms. A nation isn't built by resignation alone. There should be reform in education, and further work should be done on that. I fully hope that the generosity with which the government has taken this step will also be reflected in reform efforts—reforms not just in education but in governance as well,” he said.
The CJP, meanwhile, has called a candlelight march on Sunday in solidarity with those subjected to police brutality during the protests.