Just hours before the third round of talks with the Centre, the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) has hardened its position, insisting that the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan is a non-negotiable demand.
CJP national spokesperson Ashutosh Ranka said on Saturday morning that there would be little point in continuing discussions if the government is unwilling to remove the Education Minister.
“Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation is NON-NEGOTIABLE. If it’s a no from the government, there’s no point in further discussion,” Ranka wrote on X.
The statement came ahead of the third round of talks between the protesting group and the Centre. Union Ministers JP Nadda and Jitendra Singh held the second round of talks with CJP representatives at the Constitution Club on Friday.
The next meeting is scheduled for Saturday afternoon. At Friday’s talks, the ministers told the protesters that the government would take into account their demands and respond.
The CJP has presented three key demands to the Centre: the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, a guarantee that protesting students will not face legal action, and compensation of $1 million for the families of students who died by suicide following the NEET paper leak.
At Friday’s meeting the Centre agreed in principle to two of the protesters’ main demands— protection from legal action for protesting students and compensation for the affected families. But the demand for Pradhan’s resignation is the biggest conflict.
Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation is NON-NEGOTIABLE.
— Ashutosh Ranka (@AshutoshRanka) July 25, 2026
If it’s a no from the government, there’s no point of further discussion.
After the talks, JP Nadda said the meeting lasted nearly two hours and talked about the protesters’ three main demands and five proposed reforms relating to examinations.
"The meeting lasted almost two hours. They had three main demands and five reform suggestions for exams. We have said we will meet them again tomorrow afternoon (Saturday) and tell them about the discussions we had within the government,” Nadda said.
While protesters have repeatedly called Pradhan’s resignation “non-negotiable,” government sources have said that the minister is unlikely to step down.
The Centre thinks resignation would be the easiest decision to take but has decided to stand by the minister. “People have given us the mandate, and we will deliver,” a government source said.
The standoff comes as the Centre is on the way to implementing a host of new measures to control examination paper leaks. Modi has also promised to establish fast-track courts for examination fraud cases.
The government is also considering amendments to the current anti-paper leak law which would see fines and penalties for the same. In addition, the Centre has replaced the Education Secretary, removed 47 officials from the NTA, and promised a total overhaul of the examination system.
But the CJP has said that these measures do not address the question of ultimate accountability.
Based on the removal of 47 NTA officials, Ranka said this had been an insufficient response and that the responsibility was ultimately with the Education Minister.
“We'll have to look at a lot of details, but we’re talking about the same thing again. The ultimate accountability is with the education minister, because he is directly responsible for all the paper leaks and the students who died by suicide after the NEET paper leak. He will have to resign,” Ranka said.
The third round of talks is therefore expected to be crucial, and the Education Minister’s resignation will be the key issue that will determine if negotiations move forward.
