"No Point In Talking If No Resignation": Student Group Hours Before Third Round of Talks

Hours before the third round of talks with the central government, a student protest group has taken a firm stance, insisting that further discussions are pointless unless the education minister is removed from office.

The group, led by spokesperson Ashutosh Ranka, stated on Saturday morning that the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan is non-negotiable. "If it's a no from the government, there's no point in further discussion," Ranka posted on social media.

Union Ministers JP Nadda and Jitendra Singh held the second round of talks with the group's representatives at the Constitution Club on Friday afternoon. The third round is scheduled for Saturday afternoon, with the ministers having promised to revert on the group's demands.

The group has put forth three demands: the resignation of Minister Pradhan, a guarantee of no legal action against protesters, and compensation of Rs 1 crore for the families of students who died by suicide after the NEET paper leak.

During Friday's talks, the government agreed in principle to two major demands — no legal action against protesting students and compensation. However, the resignation of the Education Minister remains a sticking point.

"The meeting went on for almost two hours. They had three main demands and five reform suggestions for exams. We have told them that we will meet them again tomorrow afternoon and tell them about the discussions we had within the government," Nadda said after Friday's talks.

While the protesters say that Pradhan's resignation is "non-negotiable", government sources have indicated that the minister's resignation is not under consideration. The sources said the government believes "resignation is the easiest decision to take" and that it "stands with the minister". "People have given us the mandate, and we will deliver," a government source said.

Meanwhile, the central government has taken a series of steps in the last two days to address the issue of paper leaks. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced the setting up of fast-track courts to try paper leak cases. The government is also planning amendments to the law against paper leaks to introduce stricter punishments and fines.

The government has replaced the education secretary and has sacked 47 officials of the testing body, the National Testing Agency (NTA), promising a complete overhaul soon.

Reacting to the dismissal of 47 NTA officials, the group's spokesperson Ashutosh Ranka said the move alone was insufficient. "We'll have to look into a lot of details, but we're talking about the same thing again. The ultimate accountability is with the education minister, because he is directly responsible for all the paper leaks and the students who committed suicide after the NEET paper leak. He will have to resign," Ranka said.