The Cockroach Janta Party played hardball on Wednesday. The dispute was over terms for its next meeting with the government.

CJP leaders had waited for hours during their last meeting with Union Minister J P Nadda. This time, they set new conditions. Spokesperson Saurav Das said police approached the party on Wednesday morning. They conveyed Nadda’s wish to talk.

But CJP refused to visit his office again. “We are not going to anyone’s office,” Das said. He suggested a neutral place near Jantar Mantar instead.

Opposition leaders staged their own protest the same day. They dressed in black outside Parliament. Their demand: resignation of Home Minister Amit Shah and Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.

Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra led the demonstration. MPs from Congress, Samajwadi Party, Left parties, RJD, TMC and JMM joined in. They raised slogans against the government.

This came a day after Gandhi and Priyanka were briefly detained. Police had picked them up during their sit-in outside PM Modi’s residence. Both were released Tuesday night.

Gandhi recorded a video message during his detention. He questioned why India’s education system was “collapsing.” He demanded a parliamentary debate and an apology from Modi.

Government Responds

Dharmendra Pradhan broke his silence on Tuesday. He said the government remained “100% committed” to discussing NEET in Parliament. He added that students “deserve far better than being treated as props.”

His comments followed PM Modi’s first remarks on the issue. Modi vowed to punish those responsible for the paper leaks. He asked BJP lawmakers to help build a foolproof exam system.

Government sources told reporters the Centre is ready for a Parliament discussion. But it will not accept Pradhan’s resignation. Officials called that demand “political.” They said the leak-related lapses had already been fixed.

Ministers Meet Wangchuk

J P Nadda and Jitendra Singh met activist Sonam Wangchuk on Tuesday evening. The meeting took place at Medanta Hospital. Wangchuk has been on hunger strike since June 28.

He was moved to the private hospital following a court order. His wife had alleged he was illegally detained after being forcibly shifted from Jantar Mantar on Saturday.

Nadda and Singh were also set to meet a CJP delegation on Wednesday. Spokesperson Ashutosh Ranka warned the protest would intensify if talks failed. He said “millions more” would come to Delhi.

Supporters continued their sit-in at Jantar Mantar. The Delhi Metro shut 16 stations in central Delhi, citing security concerns. Samajwadi Party workers held a separate protest over Akhilesh Yadav’s detention.

The protest began as a small online movement. It has since grown into one of the sharpest youth-led challenges to the Modi government since 2014.

The NEET paper leak forced nearly 2 million students to resit the exam. It has also been linked to several suicides, fueling wider anger over job shortages and exam irregularities.