Cockroach Janta Party leaders said government representatives had renewed assurances that protesters would be protected from prosecution, following late-night talks aimed at preventing a fresh round of demonstrations.
The youth-led movement said officials shared copies of notifications from Bihar and Assam providing for the withdrawal of police cases, the release of detained or arrested protesters and protection from further legal action connected to the agitation.
CJP chief spokesperson Saurav Das said the meeting lasted between two and three hours and focused on ensuring that similar orders were issued by the Union government and other BJP- or National Democratic Alliance-ruled states.
“No protester will be left alone. We are all in this together,” the group said after the talks, signalling that it would continue pressing authorities until participants across the country received comparable safeguards.
The negotiations followed a warning from the organisation that it could return to the streets over what it described as violations of an earlier settlement. CJP leaders had alleged that students and volunteers were still being detained, questioned or placed under surveillance despite assurances that no punitive action would follow the demonstrations.
The group said reports of police action had emerged from Bihar, West Bengal, Assam and Delhi. It demanded the immediate withdrawal of first information reports, the release of detainees and a written commitment that fresh cases would not be registered against people who took part in peaceful protests.
Das said the government had promised that further notifications addressing the organisation’s concerns would be issued by other states. CJP representatives also received an assurance that authorities in Rajasthan would not initiate proceedings against protesters and that no FIRs had been registered there.
The talks temporarily reduced the possibility of another mobilisation after the organisation accused authorities of breaching commitments made when it ended its 37-day protest at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi.
The movement had called off the agitation after Dharmendra Pradhan resigned as education minister, meeting one of its central demands. Protesters had blamed failures in the examination system and repeated paper leaks for damaging the prospects of millions of students and undermining public confidence in recruitment and entrance tests.
The campaign grew from an online satirical initiative into a broad youth protest involving students, professionals, parents and opposition supporters. Its name was adopted as an act of defiance after young people were derisively compared with cockroaches during arguments over unemployment and examination failures.
The demonstrations intensified after the cancellation of a national medical entrance examination following a question paper leak that affected about two million candidates. Anger over the scandal merged with wider dissatisfaction over job shortages, delayed recruitment processes and allegations of irregularities in competitive examinations.
Tens of thousands of supporters later assembled in Delhi, while parallel demonstrations were held in several states. Protesters attempting to march towards Parliament clashed with police after being stopped with barricades, tear gas and baton charges.
The unrest also disrupted the monsoon session of Parliament, with opposition members demanding accountability from the government. Metro stations in central Delhi were closed during major protest days, while mobile internet services were restricted around sensitive areas.
Government representatives, including senior ministers J. P. Nadda and Jitendra Singh, held several rounds of talks with CJP spokespersons Das and Ashutosh Ranka. The movement’s demands included Pradhan’s removal, the withdrawal of cases against demonstrators and compensation for families of students who died by suicide after examination-related setbacks.
Police action in Kolkata has remained a point of contention. Left-affiliated student organisations and CJP representatives demanded the release of protesters arrested after a march over the alleged NEET paper leak. They also called for cases against students to be dropped and renewed demands for the National Testing Agency to be dismantled.
Student groups alleged that several detainees had been selected on the basis of their community and criticised the use of stringent state laws. West Bengal authorities have not accepted claims that the arrests were politically motivated, maintaining that action was taken in connection with offences committed during the protest.
The Bihar administration’s decision to withdraw cases offered the movement a model for the guarantees it is seeking elsewhere. CJP leaders said written orders were essential because verbal assurances could be interpreted differently by state police forces.
The organisation has indicated that its campaign will remain active even after Pradhan’s resignation. Its representatives are now concentrating on legal protection for protesters and implementation of promised changes to examination governance.
