Students held a protest in Sealdah, Kolkata, demanding the resignation of India’s Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over an exam paper leak. The demonstration, supported by the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP), drew a large gathering, according to the report published on July 24, 2026.

The Sealdah rally was called by several student organisations and was described by local students as part of a broader student movement continuing across the country. Protests over the same demand are under way at Jantar Mantar in Delhi, and the movement has spread to several nearby Indian states, the report said.

Local students said the Kolkata event followed a nationwide protest programme called by CJP leaders. CJP founder Abhijit Dipke said the movement would continue until the education minister resigns. The report did not identify the other student organisations involved or provide details of further planned activities.

The Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) said it would not compromise on its demand for Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation during a second meeting with India’s central government. The two-hour meeting was held Saturday at VP House in Delhi. Union Health Minister J.P. Nadda and Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office Jitendra Singh represented the government, while CJP national spokesperson Saurabh Das and Ashutosh Ranka attended for the party.

After the meeting, CJP representatives said the Modi government had not given a clear message on the education minister’s resignation and had requested another day to decide. Ranka said the government sought time until Saturday afternoon. He added that the government had agreed in principle to two demands: compensation for families of examinees who died by suicide, and withdrawal of FIRs and legal cases filed against students. The report said another meeting between the two sides could take place Saturday.

Bollywood actors Nora Fatehi and Pankaj Tripathi have expressed solidarity with students protesting alleged question-paper leaks in India’s National Eligibility cum Entrance Test, or NEET. Students and their supporters have been holding continuous demonstrations at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi since June 20. Their demands include full transparency and accountability in the examination system, justice for affected students, the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, and sweeping reforms to the examination process.

In an Instagram message, Fatehi said education is not only about examinations or marks and that students and their families deserve fairness, dignity and trust. She expressed condolences to families of students who died by suicide and praised protesters’ courage and patience. Tripathi supported the movement in an Instagram story, criticized the police’s strict approach, and urged the government to show compassion toward injured young people. The source also says Alia Bhatt and several other prominent actors had previously voiced support for the students’ demands.

Educator and environmental activist Sonam Wangchuk delivered his first video message after ending a 26-day hunger strike. According to the report, he withdrew the fast late Thursday after assurances from the central government. In a video message on Friday morning, Wangchuk said the fast had ended and that the next phase was accountability.

Wangchuk said the government had provided several important written assurances. The most significant, he said, was that students who participated in peaceful protests would not face punitive action. He also said the issue of accountability over examination paper leaks would be raised in Parliament for discussion with all political parties. The central government also assured appropriate compensation for families of examination candidates who died by suicide in connection with the recent paper leak case.

Wangchuk said the movement was not over and that its future would depend on how effectively the assurances were implemented. He urged protesters to continue their demonstrations through peaceful and democratic means.

Flood conditions have worsened in India’s Assam state, affecting more than 721,000 people across 11 districts, according to the latest report released Friday by Assam’s Disaster Reporting and Information Management System. Nearly 900 villages remain fully inundated. Six additional deaths were reported in the past 24 hours, bringing the seasonal flood death toll to 47. Sivasagar is the worst-hit district, with about 392,000 people affected. Charaideo, Jorhat and Dibrugarh are also among the affected districts.

Local authorities have opened 106 relief camps and 381 relief distribution centres. A total of 24,418 people are sheltering in the camps, while nearly 290,826 people are receiving assistance through distribution centres. Rescue and relief operations include 111 medical teams, 56 boats and an Indian Air Force helicopter. Authorities have moved 8,409 people and 35 animals to safer locations. Floodwaters have submerged about 24,897 hectares of cropland and affected 138,965 animals. Water levels in four rivers are above danger marks, while the Disang River has crossed its highest flood level.

Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) said it would continue its protest demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, despite Sonam Wangchuk withdrawing his fast. Protesters are scheduled to meet representatives of India’s central government at Constitution Club in Delhi at 12:30 p.m. local time on Friday. The representatives attending from either side had not been formally announced.

CJP had requested a neutral venue rather than the residence of a central minister, and Constitution Club was selected accordingly. Its three demands are the education minister’s resignation, financial compensation for families of people who died by suicide over question-paper leaks, and withdrawal of FIRs filed against protesters. Party spokespersons said the protest would continue and their demands would be presented to the government. Crowds were increasing again at Jantar Mantar on Friday, while 17 Delhi Metro stations were closed for security reasons.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi issued a late-night video address on Thursday amid an ongoing protest by the Kokroch Janata Party at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar. He said a draft for a strict new law to prevent examination paper leaks had been submitted to him and would be discussed at Friday’s cabinet meeting. Modi said the draft includes provisions for fast-track courts and severe penalties, and that the government would seek to pass the bill in Parliament as soon as possible.

Modi said paper leaks cause severe mental distress for millions of students and their parents, and that arrests and other measures had been taken over the past two and a half months. He said examinations for about 2.2 million students were arranged and results released on July 19 to prevent the loss of an academic year. The CJP said Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan must resign. Environmental and climate activist Sonam Wangchuk ended a 26-day hunger strike in solidarity with the protest on Friday.

Congress leader Sonia Gandhi has accused Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government of repeatedly choosing repression over dialogue. In remarks reported on July 24, 2026, she said the government views students seeking accountability as “enemies of the country.” She said the state had used its power against the country’s future generation rather than responding with empathy.

Gandhi said a similar pattern had been seen in the treatment of farmers and rights activists. She described the use of repressive state power against future doctors, engineers, teachers, government officials and entrepreneurs as unforgivable. According to Gandhi, the crisis in India’s education system and the government’s tendency to avoid accountability are the main causes of student protests. She said students’ protests were natural because they face an uncertain and discouraging education system, and argued that repressive conduct rather than listening to their concerns and demands was making the situation more complicated.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi wished activist and environmentalist Sonam Wangchuk good health after Wangchuk ended a 26-day hunger strike, according to a report published on July 24, 2026. In a message on X, Modi urged Wangchuk to follow doctors’ advice and return quickly to his normal weight. Wangchuk ended the fast on Friday at Medanta Hospital in Gurgaon, where he had been fasting since June 28.

Wangchuk decided to withdraw the fast after the government assured that no legal action would be taken against peaceful protesters at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar. Union ministers J.P. Nadda and Jitendra Singh, leaders of the Leh-Ladakh Apex Body, doctors and Wangchuk’s family members were present when he ended the fast. Nadda said the government was positively considering not filing cases against peaceful protesters and participants in the July 20 march toward Parliament. The Cockroach Janata Party said its peaceful protest at Jantar Mantar would continue until it secured the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.

Protests are continuing at Jantar Mantar in Delhi over an examination paper leak, with demonstrators demanding the resignation of India’s Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. Abhijit Dipke, founder of the Cockroach Janata Party, said the movement would continue until the minister resigns. He alleged that the education minister bears the real responsibility for the NEET scandal and said resignation is the protesters’ only demand.

In an interview with NDTV, Dipke said talks could take place at Jantar Mantar or another neutral venue if the government wished, but not at ministers’ residences. He said the group did not want to repeat past experiences in which time was allegedly wasted in the name of discussions. The movement began on June 6 and gained momentum after Ladakh social activist Sonam Wangchuk joined an indefinite hunger strike on June 28. Dipke said protests on the same demand were also taking place in Mumbai, Jaipur, Bengaluru and other cities.

Cockroach Janata Party founder Abhijit Deepake urged India’s central education minister, Dharmendra Pradhan, to join protesters at Jantar Mantar in Delhi and resign over the NEET scandal. In an interview with NDTV, Deepake referred to Pradhan’s earlier remarks against examination paper leaks and said a resignation letter would be ready for the minister to sign. He alleged that Pradhan bears the real responsibility for the scandal and said the minister’s resignation is the movement’s sole demand.

Continuous protests demanding Pradhan’s resignation have been underway at Jantar Mantar since 6 June. Deepake said demonstrations with the same demand are also taking place in Mumbai, Jaipur, Bengaluru and other cities. He said talks could take place at Jantar Mantar or a neutral venue if the government wished, but not at ministers’ residences, citing previous delays in the name of discussions. Ladakh social activist Sonam Wangchuk joined an indefinite hunger strike in support on 28 June, after which the movement gained momentum.

Delhi University has urged teachers and students not to join ongoing protests in the Indian capital over a medical examination paper leak. In a message posted on X on Thursday, the university said gatherings and demonstrations at Jantar Mantar are strictly regulated under directions from India’s Supreme Court. It warned that law enforcement agencies could take legal action against people participating in unlawful assemblies.

The university said the warning was issued with the safety of students and teachers in mind. It said involvement in such activities could disrupt students’ academic work and negatively affect their future professional prospects. The institution also cautioned against sharing or reacting to unverified, false or misleading information circulating on social media. Kakaroch Janata Party is continuing its protest at Jantar Mantar, while the Congress-led opposition alliance has joined in solidarity. The party and opposition groups have demanded the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the paper leak.

The Students’ Federation of India (SFI) and other student organisations have called for nationwide protests in India over an alleged baton charge on students demonstrating in Delhi. In support of the ongoing student movement, the groups announced a Friday programme titled “Stay Awake, Awaken the Country.” SFI all-India general secretary Srijan Bhattacharya announced the programme at a Wednesday press conference in Delhi, calling on people across the country to remain on the streets through the night in solidarity with the movement.

SFI said it had called a nationwide student strike for July 24 and urged other student and mass organisations to support it. The organisation also announced symbolic protests against police across the country on July 25 and 26 over alleged police abuse of students. It said Melody chocolates would be handed to police personnel as “return gifts” during those actions. SFI has also written to opposition members of parliament about what it describes as a crisis in the education system, citing the NEET paper leak, alleged irregularities in the UGC-NET examination, discrepancies in Class 12 results and questions about the National Testing Agency’s role.

The Kakroach Janata Party (KJP) has called for nationwide protests across India today in response to an exam paper leak and to stand with people who suffered police violence. The call accompanies student-led actions after police baton charges on July 20, and various organizations including the Student Federation of India have announced a nationwide student strike and marches, with a planned Kolkata march from Sealdah to Dharmatala.

In a message posted on X, the Kakroach Party urged the general public and students to join Friday's programs and asked organizers to ensure students clearly voice their main demands from the front of each rally. The party also advised student groups and other allied organizations to cooperate closely to simplify permissions and logistical arrangements for the demonstrations.

India's central government moved Education Secretary Vinit Joshi out of the education ministry and transferred him to the Ministry of Panchayati Raj amid intense student protests over leakage of medical entrance exam question papers. The administrative change occurred last Thursday, and Naresh Pal Gangwar was appointed as the new education secretary after serving as secretary in the fisheries, animal husbandry and dairy production ministry.

The transfer did not appease protesting students, who remain firm in demanding the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and an impartial investigation into the unified medical entrance test (NEET) paper leak. The Facebook-based group 'Cocoroch Janata Party' (CZP) has been protesting since June 6, and notable activist Sonam Wangchuk, who began a hunger strike on June 28 in solidarity, broke his fast after the transfer and is currently hospitalized at Medanta. Reports in the source say at least 12 examinees have died by suicide across states in reaction to the paper leak incident.