India government seeks time on education minister demand as youth protests continue

NEW DELHI: Leaders of India’s youth-led Cockroach Janta Party movement said on Friday that the government had asked for time until Saturday afternoon to respond to their demand for Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation after talks between the two sides.

The meeting took place hours after activist Sonam Wangchuk ended a 26-day hunger strike, a move that raised hopes of progress after tens of thousands of young protesters gathered in Delhi over exam paper leaks. The protests have emerged as the biggest youth challenge to Prime Minister Narendra Modi since he took office in 2014, while opposition parties have backed the demands and disrupted the monsoon session of parliament that opened this week.

Friday’s meeting was described as the first substantive round of talks after a preliminary contact on Monday. The government side was represented by senior federal ministers JP Nadda and Jitendra Singh, while Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka attended on behalf of the self-styled Cockroach Janta Party.

According to the protest leaders, they told the ministers that they would not accept any outcome short of Pradhan’s resignation and warned that the agitation would widen if that did not happen. Besides the minister’s ouster, the movement is also demanding withdrawal of police cases against protesters and compensation for the families of more than a dozen students who, local media reported, took their own lives after the medical entrance exam paper leak in May.

Speaking to reporters after the talks, Ranka said:

The government has asked for time until tomorrow afternoon to respond on this point [the minister's resignation].

He added:

We hope the government will dismiss Dharmendra Pradhan at the earliest, or that he will resign, so that we can bring this matter to a conclusion.

Nadda said the discussions were held in a cordial atmosphere. He told reporters:

They had three main demands. We have told them we will meet you tomorrow afternoon and discuss the demands.

Restrictions in Delhi

Authorities shut 16 Delhi metro stations on Thursday in and around the central parts of the city where protesters have remained camped, affecting commuters. The government also extended a mobile internet suspension in the area until midnight on Friday, according to two industry sources cited by Reuters.

The government further defended police surveillance at the protest venue, telling a court that there was no right to privacy in a public place when a legitimate state interest was involved.

Protesters reject Modi proposal

Earlier on Thursday, Modi said special courts would be created to prosecute those responsible for examination paper leaks, marking his first public response to the crisis.

In a post on X, Modi said:

Nothing is more important than the welfare and future of our youth!

However, the Cockroach Janta Party rejected the proposal, saying court proceedings after a paper leak addressed only one part of the issue. Later the same day, Modi said on social media that the government would announce tougher steps against paper leaks at a cabinet meeting on Friday.

The current unrest follows protests that have spread beyond Delhi, with sporadic demonstrations also reported in other parts of India. National elections are not due until April 2029, but several important states, including Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and Punjab, are scheduled to vote next year.