NEW DELHI: The Centre on Thursday stepped up efforts to break the deadlock over the NEET paper leak protests, saying it had reached out to the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) four times in the past 24 hours for talks, even as the student outfit rejected the government’s offer, announced a nationwide strike and reiterated its demand for Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation.
The government has tasked Union Ministers J P Nadda and Jitendra Singh with engaging the protesters. Speaking to reporters, Jitendra Singh said there was “no question of prestige” for the government and appealed to the students to join talks at Nadda’s residence.
“I again make a humble appeal to the students on protest. The government is ready for talks whenever they want, for as long as they want. The discussions can be held with an open mind at Nadda ji’s residence, and I will also be present,” he said.
The CJP, however, dismissed the announcement as a “distraction” that failed to address the root cause of repeated examination leaks. “Dharmendra Pradhan must resign. Fast track courts are not the solution,” the outfit said in a post on X.