Watch: CJP leader Abhijeet Dipke ends hunger strike amid clashes, reports of talks with govt

Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) leader Abhijeet Dipke on Monday ended his hunger strike. ANI shared visual of him breaking the fast.

In a statement, the CJP said that Dipke broke the fast to lead the movement's march to the Parliament.

"The father of a Neet student Riya Thapa, who died by suicide, has persuaded Abhijeet Dipke to end his hunger strike so that he can lead the march to Parliament," the CJP said in a post on X.

The development comes as fellow CJP leaders, Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka, hold talks with Union Health Minister JP Nadda.

Despite the lathi-charge earlier in the day, cordon around Jantar Mantar, and shutdown of Delhi Metro stations, thousands of protesters reached close to the Parliament where the authorities lobbed them with tear gas. The visuals were shared by the media.

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The march to the Parliament is part of the CJP's movement to demand accountability for irregularities in Neet and other competitive exams. They have also sought the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. For weeks, the movement was led by activist Sonam Wangchuk, who was on a hunger strike at Jantar Mantar, until he was whisked away by the police on the on the 21st day of the strike. The police are currently holding him at the Safdarjung hospital.

At the parliament, security personnel have been videographed taking positions with guns aimed in the direction of protesters.

While Nadda is understood to be holding talks with CJP leaders, Union Home Minister Amit Shah has met Pradhan, who is at the centre of the movement over his ministry's string of failures lately ranging from the botched checking of the CBSE class 12 answer sheets to alleged irregularities in Neet.