After two-hour wait, CJP team meets J.P. Nadda amid Parliament march clashes

A two-member delegation of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) waited for more than two hours before meeting Union health minister J.P. Nadda on Monday, 20 July as the government opened a channel of communication with protesters who had attempted to march to Parliament earlier in the day.

The meeting, which lasted about 10 minutes, came after thousands of protesters gathered in central Delhi demanding education reforms and the resignation of Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan over alleged examination irregularities.

The CJP said Nadda assured the delegation that he would hold internal consultations and sought time to discuss the outfit's demands with the government leadership.

Official sources confirmed that the CJP representatives met Nadda as part of the government's outreach to the protesters. They said discussions within the government on the agitation were underway and that a formal statement could be issued.

CJP chief spokesperson Saurav Das said he and the outfit's national spokesperson Ashutosh Ranka met the minister at his residence after waiting for over two hours.

"After waiting for more than 2 hours, @AshutoshRanka and I just met J.P. Nadda ji at his residence for 10 minutes. While we submitted a written letter with our demands, he has assured us that he will meanwhile speak internally. We are in that process. There is news of mass detention etc," Das said in a post on X.

Ranka said it was only late on Sunday night that the Deputy Commissioner of Police, New Delhi, contacted the CJP to open a communication channel with the government.

According to him, substantive discussions began only around 6 am on Monday, while an agreement to meet Nadda was reached only at about 11.45 am.

"We finally met Nadda ji 10 mins ago and he is checking with the leadership internally wrt our demands. @DelhiPolice should immediately stop using brute force on peaceful protestors," Ranka wrote on X at 2.48 pm.

Ranka said Nadda had sought time to align with the government leadership on the CJP's key demands, which include the immediate release of Sonam Wangchuk, Pradhan's resignation and Rs 1 crore compensation for the families of NEET aspirants who died by suicide.

The meeting came as thousands of protesters converged near Parliament Street and attempted to march towards Parliament, demanding accountability over alleged examination irregularities and Pradhan's resignation. Police used batons and tear gas to stop the march, while many protesters refused to disperse despite heavy barricading.

The Parliament march drew students and supporters from across Delhi, many of whom said they had expected resistance but were determined to continue their protest.