Abhijeet Dipke, chief of Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) and one of the most prominent faces of the continuing protest in Delhi’s Jantar Mantar, said he has been diagnosed with typhoid but will continue the agitation until Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan quits.
In a post on X on Saturday, Dipke wrote, “Have been diagnosed with typhoid, but the fight will go on until Dharmendra Pradhan resigns!”
As the CJP maintained that the resignation of the Education Minister is its chief and “non-negotiable” demand after protests over alleged irregularities in the NEET-UG 2026 examination.
CJP has been in talks with the Centre over its demands. Union Ministers J P Nadda and Jitendra Singh held the second round of discussions with CJP representatives on Friday. The meeting went on for nearly two hours at the Constitution Club.
Following the talks, the protesting organization said the Centre had agreed in principle to two of its main demands - compensation for the families of students who allegedly died by suicide following the NEET paper leak and protection from legal action against protesters.
But the demand for Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation remains unresolved and has become the biggest obstacle in the negotiations.
CJP spokesperson Ashutosh Ranka reiterated the organisation’s position on Saturday. “Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation is NON-NEGOTIABLE. If it’s a no from the government, there’s no point in further discussion,” he said.
The third round of talks between CJP representatives and Union ministers is scheduled to take place in Delhi on Saturday afternoon. After Friday’s meeting, the Centre had sought more time to discuss the protesters’ demands.
The CJP has three main demands of the government: the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, a guarantee that protesters will not face legal action and ₹1 crore compensation for the families of students who allegedly died by suicide after the NEET paper leak.
It is also seeking structural changes to the examination system and has warned that protests at Jantar Mantar could increase and spread to other parts of the country if its demands are not met.
Though the Centre has agreed in principle to compensation and protection from legal action, it has not accepted the demand for Pradhan’s resignation. The government’s position on the minister’s continuation will be a key issue in the third round of talks.
As Dipke vows to continue the agitation despite his illness and the CJP reiterates that Pradhan’s resignation is non-negotiable, Saturday’s negotiations will determine the future course of the protests.
