Updates: CJP says ‘no commitment so far’ from government, protesters lathi-charged at Jantar Mantar

Members of the Cockroach Janta Party on Monday met Union minister JP Nadda at his residence in Delhi, amid a protest at the city’s Jantar Mantar area demanding that Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan resign from his post.

Two spokespersons for the political campaign, Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka submitted a memorandum to Nadda. Apart from Pradhan’s resignation, they also demanded that activist Sonam Wangchuk, who was taken by the police to the Safdarjung Hospital on Saturday, be released.

The Cockroach Janta Party also demanded that the families of undergraduate National Eligibility cum Entrance Test aspirants who died by suicide should be paid compensation of Rs 1 crore each.

“The Minister assured us he will discuss this at the appropriate level. However, no commitments have been made so far,” Das said on social media. He added that despite Nadda’s assurance that no further crackdown on protesters would take place at Jantar Mantar, there were “no reports yet of police stopping”.

Earlier in the day, the Cockroach Janta Party accused security personnel of firing tear gas shells at protesters marching to Parliament. It alleged that the police resorted to a “brutal lathi-charge” and described its actions as a “black day” for democracy.

The campaign has been demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan for the alleged mismanagement...

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