NEET protests: Centre, CJP hold 3rd round of talks, deadlock continues over Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation demand

New Delhi: The Centre's engagement with Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) to resolve the NEET paper leak agitation gathered pace on Friday, with the two sides holding their third round of talks and agreeing to meet again on Saturday. However, the negotiations remain deadlocked over the CJP's demand for education minister Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation.

Calling Pradhan's resignation "non-negotiable", CJP leaders said they conveyed to Union ministers J P Nadda and Jitendra Singh that the agitation would continue until the demand was met. Government sources, however, indicated that Pradhan's resignation was not under consideration, suggesting the talks would instead focus on addressing the protesters' other demands. Besides Pradhan's resignation, the CJP sought a public apology to students allegedly assaulted during the July 20 march to Parliament, Rs 1 crore compensation for families of students who died by suicide following the cancellation of the May 3 NEET examination, and withdrawal of FIRs against protesters.

The two-hour meeting at Vithalbhai Patel House was aimed at finding an amicable solution to the protests. "We told Union ministers that our demand for the resignation of Pradhan is non-negotiable," CJP spokesperson Saurav Das said after the meeting. He added that the government had responded positively to the demands relating to compensation and withdrawal of cases against protesters. Nadda said the ministers had heard the CJP's demands and would respond after internal consultations. "We will meet again on Saturday," he said.