The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) on Saturday issued a statement announcing that its National Working Committee will meet on Monday to review the Centre’s response to commitments made when the group withdrew its nationwide agitation on July 25. The organisation said the government has yet to formally communicate steps being taken to fulfil those assurances and that all options, including another peaceful nationwide agitation, remain on the table.
In the statement, the CJP said it had called off the agitation “in good faith because the government gave its word to the young people of this country” and warned that this decision “must not be mistaken for weakness.” It added that any attempt to “dilute, delay, reinterpret or dishonour” the commitments would amount to “vishwasghaat” (betrayal) of the country’s youth.
According to the CJP, the assurances included the withdrawal or quashing of FIRs linked to the protests, a guarantee that no student or peaceful protester would face punitive action in future, and compensation for the families of NEET-UG candidates who died by suicide after the examination was cancelled in May following paper leaks. The group also noted that the government delegation that held talks with its representatives had not formally contacted it to place on record the steps being taken on these written assurances.
The CJP further underlined that the government’s assurances specifically covered “honourable compensation” for the families of NEET-UG candidates who allegedly died by suicide after the examination was cancelled in May due to paper leaks, and alleged that no formal steps or written confirmation on this front have been communicated so far despite the commitments made during the talks that led to the withdrawal of the agitation.
The announcement follows a Supreme Court hearing on August 18 in which the court sought a consolidated list of FIRs registered against students and protesters across the country so that it could consider exercising its powers under Article 142 to quash the cases. The CJP stated that the court asked the Centre three times for the list, but “the Union government did not commit to providing it.”
The organisation has asked students, young citizens, supporters and volunteers across the country to remain prepared for the outcome of Monday’s meeting. The CJP had withdrawn its agitation on July 25 shortly after the then Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan resigned, following talks in which the government gave the assurances now under review.
