India’s ‘Cockroach’ leaders hold talks with gov’t as protests continue
Cockroach Janta Party protesters have stressed their demonstrations will continue until their demands have been met. Leaders of the youth-led Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) have
Cockroach Janta Party protesters have stressed their demonstrations will continue until their demands have been met. Leaders of the youth-led Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) have begun talks with India’s government to try and resolve a face-off over national examination paper leaks, although they will not halt nationwide protests, a spokesperson for the group says. The talks between two senior government ministers and two leaders of the self-named CJP in New Delhi on Friday came hours after activist Sonam Wangchuk ended a 26-day hunger strike overnight. The meeting has raised hopes that the two sides could be moving toward a breakthrough in the crisis in which tens of thousands of angry youth are demanding the resignation of the education minister over an exam paper leak scandal. “We hope that the government comes with an open mind and it will listen to the people of this country who have been out on the roads for so long,” CJP’s spokesperson Saurav Das told reporters in New Delhi late on Thursday night. “We will explain our demands to them in greater detail. And we hope that the government will listen to us.” A senior Indian government minister said on Thursday that the government was always open to talks, for however long it would take, and that it would not “stand on prestige”.
The CJP is a political pressure group that has been leading the students’ protest. It says the demonstrations will continue “peacefully” until three demands are met: that Dharmendra Pradhan, the education minister, resigns; that the Modi government assures that no criminal cases will be pursued against protesters; and that compensation of about $105,000 be paid to families of students who died by suicide due to exam paper leaks and cancellations. The protests are the biggest challenge to Prime Minister Narendra Modi since he came to power in 2014. Opposition parties have echoed the CJP movement’s demands and have disrupted the monsoon session of parliament that began this week. India’s federal cabinet will also meet on Friday and discuss a draft to amend laws to punish culprits behind exam paper leaks and get it approved by parliament as soon as possible, Modi said in a social media video late on Thursday. But the protesters have rejected the proposal, saying the examination system should be fixed to prevent leaks in the first place. The nationwide protests will continue, CJP’s Das said. “We are not backing out. Because real awakening starts from the grassroots and that is what we really need.” Anger across India Over the past week, there has been anger on the streets of the capital, New Delhi, and other cities including Mumbai, Bengaluru and Patna, with thousands of young men and women stressing that they will continue to protest until the education minister resigns.
The BriefWire