New Delhi, 25 July

The Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) on Saturday declared an end to its month-long agitation over the alleged NEET paper leak, after Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan resigned and the government agreed to the group's remaining demands.

The announcement came after the third round of talks between the Centre and CJP representatives at the Constitutional Club of India in New Delhi concluded on Saturday. In a joint press conference, CJP said the government had agreed to its demands and that it was withdrawing the protests with immediate effect.

"We withdraw the agitation in good faith and hope for positive steps. We withdraw our agitation, request all protesters to return to home. We declare that we withdraw our agitation with immediate effect," CJP spokesperson Ashutosh Ranka said.

The government's first commitment was to withdraw all FIRs registered against protesters in Delhi. The second was to provide the maximum possible compensation to the families of those affected during the agitation.

A five-point charter submitted by students on reforms to the examination system was also part of the talks, which the government said it would discuss further with student representatives. The government also assured CJP that no action would be taken in the future against the protesters or the organisers of the movement.

The agitation began on 20 June at Jantar Mantar, with the CJP demanding accountability over alleged irregularities in the NEET examination, reforms to the country's education and testing systems, and Pradhan's resignation. The protest saw activist Sonam Wangchuk undertake a 26-day hunger strike in support of the movement, and culminated in a "Chalo Sansad" march to Parliament that saw clashes between protesters and security personnel.

The resignation of Pradhan marks the resolution of the central demand that had driven weeks of protests, parliamentary disruptions, and legal proceedings, including a Supreme Court plea on police action during the demonstrations.