Indian govt, CJP hold first round of talks on exam crisis, second meeting tomorrow

Highlights

• Two-hour talks held in New Delhi over exam controversy
• Second round of discussions scheduled for Saturday afternoon
• CJP insists education minister must resign
• Government agrees to review demands before next meeting

The Indian government and the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) today (24 July) held their first formal talks in New Delhi to address the political fallout from alleged irregularities in national-level examinations, with both sides agreeing to resume discussions tomorrow.

The nearly two-hour meeting, held at Vithal Patel House near parliament, was attended by Union Ministers JP Nadda and Jitendra Singh, alongside CJP Chief Spokesperson Saurav Das and national spokesperson Ashutosh Ranka.

Following the meeting, Nadda said the government would hold internal consultations on the issues raised before meeting the CJP delegation again on Saturday afternoon.

"We have told them that we will meet them again tomorrow afternoon and tell them about the discussion we had among the government," Nadda told reporters.

The CJP agreed to join the talks after the Centre reportedly accepted two of its preconditions – that peaceful protesters would not face legal action and that families of students affected by the recent examination irregularities would receive adequate compensation.

However, the party reiterated that its principal demand remains the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.

Das said the CJP had placed three key demands and five proposals for reforming India's competitive examination system before the government.

"We told the ministers that our demand for resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan is non-negotiable," he said after the meeting.

Ranka said the issue of Pradhan's resignation dominated the discussions.

"Regarding the main demand for the resignation of Dharmendra Pradhan, the issue was discussed in detail with the government delegation. We conveyed in very clear terms that nothing short of Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation or his removal from the cabinet would be acceptable.

"Across the country, protests are taking place in different places. There is widespread anger and resentment among the youth, and the sentiment is very clear... Dharmendra Pradhan has to resign, and he needs to be sacked. The government has sought time till tomorrow afternoon to respond to this demand," Ranka added.

Das also alleged that Delhi Police had detained numerous protesters and supporters over the past two days.

"Another issue we raised was that the Delhi Police has been detaining a large number of young men and women since last night, throughout the day, and even today. Those being detained include people leaving Jantar Mantar to return home, those heading towards the protest site, and even those delivering food," he said.

According to Das, government representatives initially denied that such incidents were taking place but assured the delegation that, if the allegations proved true, the detentions would not continue and appropriate instructions would be issued to the Delhi Police.

The talks came shortly after social activist Sonam Wangchuk ended his 26-day hunger strike after receiving a written assurance from the government on the NEET examination issue and broader reforms to India's competitive examination system.

Wangchuk ended his fast at Medanta Hospital in the presence of Nadda and Jitendra Singh.