Union Health Minister JP Nadda holds talks with Cockroach Janta Party amid Parliament march

Union Health Minister JP Nadda on Monday said the Centre held its first formal round of talks with protesters from the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), after members of the group proposed a dialogue for the first time since their agitation began.

A two-member delegation of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) on Monday met Union Health Minister JP Nadda, who initiated the dialogue on behalf of the government as protesters led by the outfit stormed into central Delhi and tried to march to Parliament.

In a post on X, Nadda said discussions with the CJP delegation began at 11:50 am and continued through the day in what he described as a "cordial atmosphere." An initial verbal round of talks was followed by a written petition submitted to him around 4 pm, the minister said. He appealed to the protesters to call off their sit-in and cooperate with the administration in restoring normalcy in the area.

However, CJP spokesperson Saurav Das said no firm commitments had come out of the meeting. In a post on X, Das said he and fellow spokesperson Ashutosh Ranka had been at Nadda's residence since 12 noon, and had conveyed their demands to the minister, including the immediate resignation or sacking of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. He said Nadda assured them the matter would be discussed "at the appropriate level," but added that the protesters would not rest until the demand was met.

The talks come on a day the CJP, along with activist Sonam Wangchuk, had given a call for a "Sansad Chalo" march to Parliament, demanding Pradhan's resignation over a string of exam paper leaks, including the NEET-UG row, and technical glitches in competitive tests. Delhi Police had ramped up security around Jantar Mantar ahead of the march, deploying over 300 personnel, barricades and tear gas vehicles, and had termed the planned procession an "unauthorised" one.

The protest, which began as a social media movement roughly six weeks ago, escalated after Wangchuk went on an indefinite hunger strike demanding Pradhan's ouster. He was removed from Jantar Mantar by Delhi Police on July 18 as his fast entered its 21st day and was subsequently taken to Safdarjung Hospital, where authorities have maintained his vital parameters are stable.

Protesters participating in the Cockroach Janta Party's Parliament march on Monday refused to disperse despite heavy police barricading, lathicharge and use of tear gas, and raised slogans demanding the resignation of Pradhan.

The march, which witnessed participation of students and people from across Delhi, was stopped near Parliament Street, where police had put up multiple layers of barricades.

His wife, Gitanjali Angmo, has alleged he was taken away "by force" and moved court seeking his discharge from hospital; the Delhi High Court has held that he is not under detention but must cooperate with authorities.

The CJP had earlier sought a meeting with a Cabinet minister and submitted a list of names it was willing to engage with, before the government agreed to talks on Monday.