The central government has once again expressed its willingness to engage in discussions with the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) over the ongoing student-related protests, with Union Minister Jitendra Singh saying that the government has already attempted to reach out to the organisation four times.
Singh said the government was ready to hold talks at any location chosen by the CJP and suggested that discussions could take place either at Union Health Minister JP Nadda’s residence or office. He stressed that the government was open to dialogue and wanted to work towards a resolution through communication rather than confrontation.
“Wherever you want, we can discuss. Either at Nadda Ji’s residence or office. JP Nadda and I will be present for the meeting,” Singh said, adding that the government was not concerned about prestige and remained focused on finding a solution.
The minister said the outreach was part of the government’s continued efforts to address concerns raised by students. He appealed to the CJP leadership to participate in discussions, saying that a constructive dialogue could help move towards resolving the issue.
Meanwhile, the CJP rejected the government’s proposed meeting arrangement, arguing that talks should take place at the protest venue or a neutral location near Jantar Mantar.
CJP spokesperson Ashutosh Ranka claimed that the party had previously invited government representatives to hold discussions at Jantar Mantar, but the request was declined. Responding to Singh’s statement about repeated outreach attempts, Ranka said the government wanted CJP leaders to visit JP Nadda’s residence instead.
Addressing protesters, Ranka asked whether the party should accept the invitation and travel to the minister’s residence. After protesters opposed the idea, he said the organisation would respect the public response and would not go there for talks.
Earlier, CJP spokesperson Saurav Das said police officials had informed the party that JP Nadda wanted to meet its representatives at his residence. However, the invitation was turned down as the party insisted that any discussion should happen in front of the public at Jantar Mantar.
Das said the CJP was willing to meet at a neutral location near the protest site if security concerns prevented ministers from visiting the demonstration area. However, he questioned whether the government was genuinely interested in addressing the party’s demands.
According to CJP leaders, thousands of supporters remain involved in the protest, and they want any dialogue to focus on concrete solutions rather than what they described as symbolic meetings.
The disagreement over the location and format of talks has kept negotiations between the government and CJP stalled, despite both sides indicating that they are open to discussions.
