Month-long CJP agitation ends as Centre accepts demands, Pradhan quits

The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) on Saturday called off its nationwide agitation after the Centre accepted its key demands, including the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, withdrawal of criminal cases against protesters and compensation for families of students who died by suicide following the cancellation of the NEET examination.

The announcement came hours after Pradhan said he had submitted his resignation to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, ending weeks of political pressure generated by a month-long student-led movement that began at Delhi's Jantar Mantar and spread across several states.

The breakthrough followed multiple rounds of talks between representatives of the government and the CJP. Union Ministers J.P. Nadda and Jitendra Singh represented the Centre, while CJP leaders Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka led the protesters' delegation. Negotiations had continued over two days after an initial round failed to resolve the protesters' principal demand for Pradhan's resignation.

Addressing a joint press conference, Nadda said the government would provide "honourable compensation", in accordance with existing rules, to the families of students who died by suicide after the NEET cancellation. He also announced that all FIRs registered against protesters during the agitation would be withdrawn.

The government further agreed to consider the CJP's five-point charter on examination reforms in future consultations, according to officials present at the talks.

"As the government accepted all our demands, we call off our protests with immediate effect. We appeal to everyone to go back home peacefully," CJP spokesperson Saurav Das said.

The CJP had been staging a sit-in at Jantar Mantar since 20 June, demanding accountability over the alleged NEET-UG 2026 paper leak, irregularities in the CBSE's on-screen marking process and wider reforms in the conduct of public examinations.

The agitation steadily grew into one of the country's biggest student-led protest movements in recent years, drawing support from students, civil society groups and Opposition parties. Demonstrations spread to several states, while the 20 July "Chalo Sansad" march ended in clashes between protesters and police, intensifying pressure on the government.

Following Pradhan's resignation, celebrations broke out at Jantar Mantar, where protesters raised slogans, distributed sweets and waved the national flag before beginning to vacate the protest site. Security personnel were deployed in large numbers to oversee the peaceful dispersal of demonstrators.

The resignation marks one of the biggest political concessions extracted through a public protest during the Modi government's tenure, with observers comparing its significance to the Centre's decision to repeal the three farm laws in 2021.