India’s ‘Cockroach’ leaders hold talks with gov’t as protests continue

What the report says

Al Jazeera, citing its staff and Reuters, reported that leaders of India’s youth-led Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) opened talks with the government in New Delhi on Friday, July 24, 2026, while saying their nationwide demonstrations would continue. The meeting involved two senior government ministers and two CJP leaders, and followed activist Sonam Wangchuk ending a 26-day hunger strike overnight.

The protests center on national examination paper leaks and cancellations, with demonstrators demanding the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. CJP spokesperson Saurav Das said the group would explain its demands in detail and hoped the government would listen. The CJP says it will keep protesting peacefully until Pradhan resigns, criminal cases are not pursued against protesters, and compensation of about $105,000 is provided to families of students who died by suicide in connection with exam leak and cancellation pressures.

According to Al Jazeera, the unrest has become a major political challenge for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, with opposition parties echoing protest demands and disrupting the parliamentary monsoon session. Modi said the federal cabinet would discuss draft legal amendments aimed at punishing those responsible for paper leaks and moving the proposal through parliament quickly. Protesters have rejected that approach as insufficient, arguing the exam system must be protected from leaks before they occur.

Demonstrations have spread across New Delhi and other cities including Mumbai, Bengaluru and Patna. Al Jazeera reported police used tear gas and canes against protesters marching toward parliament earlier in the week, while authorities restricted movement and communications in central Delhi, including repeated large-scale metro station closures and mobile internet shutdowns.