New Delhi: As the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP)'s student protest continued at Delhi's Jantar Mantar on Thursday, representative Ashutosh Ranka asserted that the movement had become a nationwide campaign and reiterated the demand for the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.

Speaking to reporters on the ongoing protest, Ranka said the movement, which began around one-and-a-half months ago, had "awakened the whole nation" and claimed that thousands of people were still gathered outside Jantar Mantar, while millions were protesting across the country.

"A movement started 1.5 months ago. It has awakened the whole nation. Jainism has awakened. The movement started 33 days ago. But you can see that Jantar Mantar is still full. Thousands of people are outside Jantar Mantar. Millions of people are protesting all over the country. This is a great success of the movement," he said.

Ranka said the protesters were ready for dialogue with the government but questioned why their time was being wasted when their demands were clear on July 20.

"But if they want to talk, they can come. We wanted to talk two days ago. We have wasted our time there. If they want to talk, they can come. Why are they wasting our time? Our demands are clear. We want the resignation of Dharmendra Pradhan," he said.

"Will you remove him or not? You cannot suspend the Cabinet Minister. Remove him or not. What is the discussion about?" Ranka added.

He also claimed that the protesters had given the government clear timelines regarding their meetings and said they had been communicating their position logically.

"We have given clear timelines. We are educated and sensible people. We talk logically. We don't talk nonsense. Our phones were confiscated between 12 and 2. We had our first meeting at 2.15. This is the first round of discussion. We got our phones at 2.30. We have updated the media," he said.

Claiming that Union Health Minister JP Nadda had presented his own narrative during the meeting, Ranka said the protesters would not need to continue their sit-in if the government addressed their concerns. "JP Nadda has spread his narrative. But if he tries to address the issue, we don't have to sit here," he said.

On climate activist Sonam Wangchuk's health, Ranka said his vitals were stable but claimed that his health was deteriorating. He also expressed concern over the possibility of police action against protesters.

"Sonam Wangchuk's health is not good. His vitals are stable, but his health is deteriorating. He is worried that police brutality may be repeated. He is worried that if police brutality is not repeated, we may file a case against the protesters," Ranka said.

Ranka said the protesters had also demanded compensation of Rs 1 crore, along with the resignation of Pradhan and a guarantee that no action would be taken against any protester.

"They have put a demand to ask for a compensation of Rs 1 crore. We have asked for the same thing. We have asked for a compensation of Rs 1 crore and for the resignation of Pradhan. Thirdly, no action should be taken against any protester," he said.

On security arrangements at the protest site, Ranka said the group had a volunteer team and was expanding it to deploy more volunteers and minimise any untoward incidents. "We have a volunteer team. We are expanding it. We will deploy more volunteers. We will try to minimise this. The government has the power to negotiate. We are ordinary people. We are sleeping here. You can come and talk to us," he said.

Further, CJP representative Abhijeet Dipke also alleged that people were being sent from outside to deliberately disrupt the ongoing students' protest, and accused Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers of pelting stones and attempting to defame the protesters.

Speaking to reporters, Dipke said, "People are being sent from outside to deliberately disrupt the protest. We have been sitting here for a month. No such incident has happened in a month. But now, as this protest has grown, goons are being sent from outside by the BJP to deliberately incite people."

Earlier on Wednesday, Union Health Minister JP Nadda said that the issue of paper leaks should not be politicised and it is a serious problem which requires in-depth discussion. Nadda, who is Leader of the House in the Rajya Sabha, said that the government is ready to discuss all aspects of the NEET-UG paper leak in Parliament. (ANI)