Dharmendra Pradhan resigns, FIR withdrawn, compensation promised: CJP ends protest | Today’s news
The cockroach Janata Party on Saturday (July 25) announced it was withdrawing its month-long agitation over the alleged NEET paper leak after Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan resigned and secured government commitments to compensate affected families and withdraw criminal charges filed against protesters.
CJP withdraws agitation ‘in good faith’
Announcing the outcome of talks with the government, CJP chief spokesperson Saurav Das said the group was withdrawing its protest, saying the promises would be honored as planned. “The cockroach of the Janta Party declares that we are withdrawing the agitation in good faith with the agreed terms being fulfilled within the agreed dates,” Das said.
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The announcement caps a campaign that began at Jantar Mantar on June 20 and earlier in the day demanded the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, a development the group hailed as the movement’s first victory.
Government agrees to compensate families of NEET victims
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The CJP’s protest was primarily driven by demands for accountability for the NEET paper leak controversy, which they felt had jeopardized the future of many students. Their key demands included the resignation of the Pradhan, compensation to the families affected by the matter and withdrawal of court proceedings against the protesters.
The government has pledged to provide ₹1 million as compensation to the families of NEET victims, responding to one of the primary demands from the Cockroach Janata Party.
The CJP made their withdrawal of the protest conditional on the government honoring its obligations, including timely payment of compensation and withdrawal of the FIR against the protesters.
The government agreed to withdraw all FIRs filed against the protesters, a demand raised by the CJP, and assured that the process would be swift and transparent.
The CJP has indicated that they will remain vigilant about the government’s fulfillment of agreed promises and plan to engage in further talks on education reforms within a month of the end of the protest.
National Spokesperson Ashutosh Ranka laid down a government-backed financial commitment, one of the founding demands of the CJP. “We demanded compensation ₹1 crore for the families of NEET victims. The government has agreed to this saying that these families will be given fair compensation as per the rules and regulations allow,” Ranka said.
Ranka added that the discussions went beyond compensation and touched on a broader reform agenda that the CJP intends to pursue in further collaboration with the government.
“In addition, we presented the government with a five-point demand charter that talked about broader education reforms and examination reforms. We will meet with the government again on that demand charter in about four weeks so that we can work together on broader reforms,” he said, adding that further withdrawal of agitation depends on the government going ahead. “If all these demands are acceptable to the government, then we would also like to withdraw the agitation.
The government agrees to withdraw FIRs against protesters across the country
Das also detailed the progress on the CJP’s second core demand, regarding legal cases filed against protesters during the protest. “Our second demand was that all FIRs filed against protesters, not just in Delhi but in all BJP-ruled and BJP-allied states, be withdrawn. That was also our second demand. The government also accepted that demand,” he said.
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According to Das, officials have given assurances that the process will be swift and transparent. “Besides, the withdrawal will be done soon. The government has assured us that it will share copies of all the FIRs filed, as per our latest information, 15 to 20 FIRs have been filed in Delhi and in any case we will receive those copies within three to four days. The government has also assured that the withdrawal will be done soon,” he said.
A written guarantee from the government is expected by Tuesday
To formalize the agreement reached in the talks, the CJP said it has submitted its own draft assurance to the government for signature. “Once we understood this, we shared a proposal with the government which is a written assurance. The government said it will give it to us by Tuesday. We hope to receive government assurances on these FIRs and any future action by Tuesday,” Das said.
A month of protests ends with partial wins and a short follow-up
For now, the withdrawal formally ends a 36-day agitation that drew thousands to Jantar Mantar, included a prolonged hunger strike by environmentalist Sonam Wangchuk and culminated in Pradhan’s resignation on Saturday.
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With compensation promised, the withdrawal of FIRs promised, and a new round of talks scheduled within a month on broader exam and education reforms, the CJP has signaled that its withdrawal from the streets is conditional rather than final, with the group keeping a close watch on whether government assurances are met within set deadlines.
