Leaders of the nationwide NEET protest movement addressed supporters after holding a second round of discussions with Union Ministers JP Nadda and Dr. Jitendra Singh at the Constitution Club of India. They said they reiterated three non-negotiable demands: the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, compensation for families of students who allegedly died by suicide in connection with the NEET controversy, and the withdrawal of FIRs filed against peaceful protesters. The delegation also claimed the government agreed “in principle” to discuss compensation and the withdrawal of FIRs, while further talks on the demand for Pradhan’s resignation are scheduled for the following day. The protest leaders warned that they would intensify demonstrations nationwide if their primary demand is not met.
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Saurav Das:
We made our conditions for dialogue very clear to the government: it would happen on our terms, either here in front of everyone at Jantar Mantar or at a neutral venue like the Constitution Club of India. We told them not to waste our time or theirs unless they had a genuine intention to accept our demands.
Today, Ashutosh and I met with JP Nadda and Dr. Jitendra Singh at the Constitution Club for a second round of discussions.
We presented our three main, non-negotiable demands in writing:
Dharmendra Pradhan must resign, or the government must dismiss him from the cabinet.
The government must provide ₹1 crore in compensation to the families of every student who was forced into suicide by the broken and corrupt NEET system.
Every FIR filed against peaceful protesters must be withdrawn, and the government must provide a sovereign written guarantee that no student will be targeted in the future.
We also submitted a Five-Point Policy Demand Charter and confronted the ministers about the Delhi Police detaining young people across the city, including children in Nizamuddin. While they initially denied it, they eventually assured us that such detentions would stop.
Ashutosh Ranka:
On the issues of compensation and the withdrawal of FIRs, the government has shown a positive sign and stated that it agrees “in principle.”
However, the most intense discussion was about the resignation. They offered many arguments, but we stayed focused on one question: Who is accountable for the 21 students who committed suicide after the paper leak?
We made it clear that the protests taking place across the country will not stop until Dharmendra Pradhan is removed.
The government has called us back for another meeting tomorrow at 3:30 PM to continue the discussions.
We have also informed them that if he is not dismissed within the next day or two, we will issue a massive nationwide call for protest, larger and more widespread than what was seen on July 20.
Our message to Prime Minister Narendra Modi is simple: nothing less than Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation is acceptable.
Abhijeet Dipke:
I want to thank the ministers for not making our delegation wait for five hours today.
But my message to Prime Minister Narendra Modi is urgent: sack Dharmendra Pradhan immediately. If you do not remove him, the youth who are currently on the streets will stop demanding his resignation and begin demanding your resignation instead.
We are very close to the finishing line. I believe the resignation is “loading.”
The government is finally listening because it realizes it cannot ignore millions of protesting young people whose families’ votes are at stake.
This progress is not because of us—it is because of your hard work and your struggle in this heat.
We will not leave Jantar Mantar, and we will not stop until we have that resignation in hand.
Dharmendra Pradhan, resign!
