JP Nadda met CJP delegation, received demands, and urged protesters to end their Jantar Mantar sit-in.
CJP demanded Sonam Wangchuk's release, Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation, and ₹1 crore compensation for affected families.
Nadda promised to discuss demands with senior leadership but made no commitments, protesters continued peaceful demonstrations.
The Centre on Monday urged members of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) to end their sit-in protest at Jantar Mantar after Union Minister J P Nadda held talks with a delegation of the group over its demands, including the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the alleged NEET-UG paper leak.
Nadda met CJP spokespersons Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka at his residence, where the delegation submitted a written memorandum outlining its demands.
In a post on X after the meeting, Nadda said the proposal for talks had come from the protesters earlier in the day and discussions had been underway since 11.50 am.
"The meeting was held in a cordial atmosphere. We first had a detailed oral discussion with the delegation, following which they submitted a written petition to me at around 4 pm," he said.
Nadda said he had appealed to all protesters to end their sit-in and help the administration restore normalcy.
No Firm Assurance
CJP spokesperson Saurav Das said the delegation had handed over its written demands and that Nadda had assured them he would discuss the matter internally.
"While we submit a written letter with our demands, he has assured us that he will meanwhile speak internally. We are in that process..." Das said in a post on X.
He added that the minister had assured the delegation that the matter would be discussed at the appropriate level but no commitment had been made.
"The peaceful protesters will not rest until the demand is met," Das added.
Speaking to PTI after the meeting, CJP spokesperson Ashutosh Ranka said the delegation had placed three demands before the Union minister.
"We came to Nadda ji's residence at around 12 o'clock. We met him at around 2.15 pm. We placed three demands before him. First, Sonam Wangchuk ji should be released immediately and allowed to address people through a video message. Second, Dharmendra Pradhan ji, whom we consider an incompetent Education Minister, should either be removed immediately or his resignation should be accepted. Third, the families of the students who died by suicide following the NEET paper leak should be given compensation of Rs 1 crore each," Ranka said.
He said there were two rounds of discussions, one at around 2 pm and another at around 4 pm.
"Nadda ji said he would discuss these demands with the senior leadership and communicate their decision to us," he said.
Asked what assurance the delegation had received, Ranka said, "The only assurance I received was that he would discuss the matter with the senior leadership, and whatever is decided will be conveyed to us soon."
The memorandum submitted by the CJP held Pradhan "directly responsible for multiple paper leaks, including NEET 2026 and other exam fiascos, most recently being CBSE 12th portal chaos and CUET exam delay."
The group further alleged that "there has been no systemic corrections or action taken by Pradhan, indicating his gross incompetency as the education minister."
Earlier in the day, hundreds of protesters gathered in the high-security central Delhi area and attempted to march towards Parliament. Police intervened as prohibitory orders banning large gatherings had been imposed in the area.
