NEW DELHI: The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) on Thursday renewed its demand for Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation.In a post on X, the CJP tagged Prime Minister Narendra Modi and wrote, “Dharmendra Pradhan must resign.” The post referred to the Prime Minister’s earlier statement that “Nothing is more important than the welfare and future of our youth!”PM Modi had announced the setting up of fast-track courts to ensure swift and stringent punishment for those involved in paper leak cases.“We have decided to set up fast-track courts to ensure swift and stringent punishment for those involved in paper leaks. Have directed the concerned authorities and officials to take all necessary steps in this regard. This continues our series of steps for safeguarding the interests of students,” the PM Modi said.He had further added, “Those who try to harm the future of our youth will not be spared.”CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke also reacted to the announcement by posting a picture of Dharmendra Pradhan with the caption, “This is nothing.”‘Jainism has awakened’As the CJP’s student protest continued at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar, party representative Ashutosh Ranka said the movement had grown into a nationwide campaign and reiterated the demand for Pradhan’s resignation.“A movement started 1.5 months ago. It has awakened the whole nation. Jainism has awakened. The movement started 33 days ago. But you can see that Jantar Mantar is still full. Thousands of people are outside Jantar Mantar. Millions of people are protesting all over the country. This is a great success of the movement,” he said.Ranka said the protesters remained open to talks with the government but questioned the purpose of further discussions when their demands had already been made clear.“But if they want to talk, they can come. We wanted to talk two days ago. We have wasted our time there. If they want to talk, they can come. Why are they wasting our time? Our demands are clear. We want the resignation of Dharmendra Pradhan,” he said.“Will you remove him or not? You cannot suspend the Cabinet Minister. Remove him or not. What is the discussion about?” Ranka added.He also claimed the protesters had informed the government about their timelines and had been presenting their case logically.“We have given clear timelines. We are educated and sensible people. We talk logically. We don’t talk nonsense. Our phones were confiscated between 12 and 2. We had our first meeting at 2.15. This is the first round of discussion. We got our phones at 2.30. We have updated the media,” he said.Claiming that Union Health Minister JP Nadda had presented his own narrative during the meeting, Ranka said the protesters would not need to continue their sit-in if the government addressed their concerns.“JP Nadda has spread his narrative. But if he tries to address the issue, we don’t have to sit here,” he said.The Prime Minister’s announcement also drew a sharp response from Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, who held him directly responsible for the crisis.“You are the one who has harmed the future of our youth the most,” Gandhi said.Stepping up his attack, he alleged, “You allowed and encouraged the total capture and destruction of our education system – and protected every person responsible for it.”He also reiterated the students’ demands, listing three key demands: “1. Sack Dharmendra Pradhan. 2. Apologise to the students. 3. Take action against those who assaulted them.”
