CJP representative Ashutosh Ranka announced that the protest at Jantar Mantar will continue until the resignation of Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. He said that despite Sonam’s fast ending, the main goal of the movement is the minister’s resignation and they will not back down.
New Delhi [भारत]July 24 (ANI): Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) representative Ashutosh Ranka on Friday said that the ongoing protests at Jantar Mantar will continue till the resignation of Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. Addressing the media, the CJP representative shared the schedule of high-level deliberations and upcoming media briefings related to the ongoing protests. “There is a meeting at CCI with JP Nadda ji at 12:30. As far as we are told, Jitendra Singh ji may also be present there. Whatever will be discussed will be shared with all of you. We have also organized a press conference at 11:00, where we will provide more details,” he told reporters.
Fast ends, but agitation continues till Pradhan’s resignation
Ranka confirmed that the fast led by Sonam has ended after some assurances from the government, but the main objective of the movement is to remove the minister. Elaborating on the progress of the talks, Ranka said, “We had been continuously requesting Sonam ji to end her fast as her health continued to deteriorate. We are very proud that Sonam ji has got our two conditional demands met by the government: no legal action will be taken against any protestor, and adequate compensation will be provided. Although details of her return are yet to come, Sonam ji has officially ended her fast.”
Emphasizing that the end of the fast does not signal the end of the protests, Ranka reiterated the party’s firm stand on ministerial accountability. He said, “However, we want to make it very clear that this protest at Jantar Mantar will continue till the resignation of Dharmendra Pradhan. His resignation has been the main demand of this movement since the beginning, and until Pradhan ji resigns, we are not going to back down.”
‘Pressure on PM, the strictest action is to remove Pradhan’
Commenting on a video released earlier by the Prime Minister, Ranka said the government was feeling the pressure of public anger and demanded immediate action. He said, “After all, we saw that for the first time the Prime Minister had to release a selfie video at 12 midnight, which shows that the pressure is very high. Prime Minister, you said that today you want to take very strict action; the strictest action for us will be to remove Dharmendra Pradhan. If you remove him quickly, then we will believe that you are really serious about the youth of this country.”
Government’s assurance on NEET issue
Earlier, Sonam Wangchuk ended her 26-day fast at Medanta Hospital in the presence of Union ministers JP Nadda and Jitendra Singh. He had received a written assurance from the Central Government regarding the issue of NEET examination and systemic reforms in the country’s system of competitive examinations.
Meanwhile, PM Modi had assured strict action against those responsible for the alleged paper leak and said the Union Cabinet would consider a draft bill providing for fast-track courts and stringent punishment for criminals. (ANI)
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianet News editorial staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)