Protest leaders to hold talks with Union minister JP Nadda, says Cockroach Janta Party

The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) on Monday said that its leaders are on their way to hold talks with Union Health Minister JP Nadda.

"Ashutosh Ranka and I, on behalf of the Cockroach Janta Party, are on our way to meet JP Nadda. The government had reached out for talks in the morning. Our demands are clear. The youth has gathered in huge numbers," said CJP Chief Spokesperson Saurav Das in a statement.

The development comes after the Delhi Police and paramilitary personnel lathi-charged protesters in a bid to stop them from marching to the parliament.

For weeks, the CJP has been holding a protest at Delhi's Jantar Mantar over the leak of the question paper for medical entrance exam Neet and demand for accountability for irregularities in Neet and other competitive exams. They have also sought the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.

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Activist Sonam Wangchuk emerged as the face of the movement as he held a hunger strike. The police whisked him away from the protest site on the 21st day of his hunger strike and are currently holding him at the Safdarjung hospital.

Even as media organisations have shared visuals of protesters being lathi-charged and being dragged away, the Delhi Police said in a statement that nothing like that happened.

"Some segments from media have mentioned sporadic use of violence/detentions at Jantar Mantar by Delhi Police. It is informed that no such incident has taken place and protest is being handled professionally. All are requested not to fall pray to any rumour/ misgivings, and, to assist Delhi Police in maintaining peace and public order at and around the site," the Delhi Police said in a statement.

Before cracking down on protesters with a lathi-charge, the authorities had cordoned off the area to prevent protesters from beginning their march, erecting barricades and deploying hundreds of security personnel along with water cannons.

As part of the crackdown, the authorities also shut down five Delhi Metro stations amid a crackdown on protesters: Janpath, Rajiv Chowk, Patel Chowk, Central Secretariat, and Seva Teerth.

The shutdown stranded hundreds of commuters who could not get off at their destinations and had to take longer routes.