Leaders of Indias youth-led “cockroach” movement said on Friday that the government has asked for time until Saturday afternoon to respond to their demand for the education ministers resignation. This came after talks between the two sides.
The talks happened a hours after activist Sonam Wangchuk ended his 26-day hunger strike. This raised hopes that the two sides could reach a breakthrough. Tens of thousands of youth had gathered in the capital, Delhi to demand the ministers resignation over exam paper leaks.
The anti-government protests are the challenge to Prime Minister Narendra Modi since he came to power in 2014. Opposition parties have echoed the movements demands. They have also disrupted the monsoon session of parliament that started this week.
The talks were the real meeting between the two sides. This came after a meeting held on Monday.
The government was represented by senior federal ministers JP Nadda and Jitendra Singh. The protesters were represented by Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka. These two are spokespersons of the self-named Cockroach Janta Party (CJP).
The CJP leaders said that they clearly told the ministers that nothing would be acceptable to them, without the education ministers resignation. They warned that protests would become more widespread if this was not done.
The government needs some time to think about what to do with the ministers resignation. They want to talk about it tomorrow afternoon said Ranka to the reporters after they finished talking. We really want the government to ask Dharmendra Pradhan to leave his job soon as possible or for him to quit so we can finish this thing.
Minister Nadda said that the talks were very friendly. They had a main things they wanted. We told them we will talk to them tomorrow afternoon and go over what they want he said.
The people who are protesting want Dharmendra Pradhan to resign. They also want the police to forget about the cases they made against the protesters.
They want money to be given to the families of the students who died after the exam paper leak, in May
Protesters demand education minister’s resignation
A senior minister said on Thursday that the government was always open to talks, for however long it would take and that it would not “stand on prestige”.
Young men and women at the protest site of Jantar Mantar in central Delhi, however, said they would continue to insist on the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan to fix accountability for the mess in the national examinations.
“We will continue to protest till Dharmendra Pradhan is terminated,” said Sudesh Singh, as thousands of protesters chanted slogans and the size of the crowd grew slowly. “He should not be given another position. If we stop here, then we will compromise the future of our children.”
The protests by the CJP began as an online satire and involved only a few hundred young people when they were first launched. But it grew to pull in millions of online followers after the cancellation of a national medical college entrance test in May after the question paper was leaked, affecting about 2 million students.
Tens of thousands of supporters of the movement marched on parliament in violation of a ban on Monday and clashed with police when they were pushed back with tear gas and beaten with batons.
Violence was reported again on Wednesday night when more than 10,000 protesters gathered at the protest site in central Delhi.
The movement’s surge in popularity reflects frustrations among young Indians over issues such as job shortages, as well as frequent exam leaks, analysts say, and warn that the government should effectively address the crisis.
Delhi Metro stations closed, mobile internet services disrupted
On Thursday officials closed 16 metro stations. They also stopped internet. They limited business in Delhi. People who are protesting have been staying there. This is seen as a way to stop the protests. It is making life hard for thousands of people.
The Delhi Metro Rail Corp. Said it is closing 17 stations again. It will do this from Friday morning until more information is available. This is the time this week that they have closed so many stations. The metro system is the way people move around the city.
Mobile internet in the area was cut again on Friday morning. Reporters from Reuters said they had no connection.
The government said the mobile internet shutdown would last until midnight on Friday. Two people from the industry told Reuters about this.
The federal cabinet will meet on Friday. They will talk about a plan to change laws. The plan is to punish people who leak exam papers. They want to get this approved by parliament soon as possible. Modi said this late on Thursday.
The protesters do not agree. They say the exam system needs to be fixed. This would stop leaks from happening in the place.
Youth-led protests in countries like Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal have caused governments to fall. Analysts say Modi’s government needs to do more than talk. They need to talk to protesters and deal with their worries.
Even though national elections are not until April 2029 some important states will vote year. These states include Uttar Pradesh, the populated state. It is run by Modis party. Gujarat, Modis home state and Punjab will also vote. Anti-government feelings could affect these elections the analysts say.
The movement has also seen harsh language. People are sharing criticism, jokes and memes about Modi. He is a leader, with many supporters. This shows people are less afraid of him. His supporters quickly and angrily defend him analysts say.
