The government intensified efforts on Friday to break a stalemate with student protesters, pushing through cabinet a stringent bill cracking down on paper leaks, sacking top officers at the National Testing Agency and moving to hire specialists, but talks failed to make headway as the agitators refused to budge on their demand for Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation.CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke addresses the crowd at Jantar Mantar next to National Spokesperson Ashutosh Ranka. (Vipin Kumar/HT Photo)Two representatives of the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) – which is heading the protests at Jantar Mantar – met Union ministers JP Nadda and Jitendra Singh at the Vithalbhai Patel House for about two hours, the second meeting of the two sides this week. The CJP submitted a written memorandum to the government, which said another meeting will be held on Saturday. The meeting will likely take place at 3.30pm at the Constitution Club of India, CJP members said.“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 discussion we had among the government,” Nadda said.CJP spokesperson Ashutosh Ranka, who attended the talks with another spokesperson Saurav Das, said they remained steadfast on the demand for Pradhan’s resignation.Also Read I 'Govt sought time till tomorrow on Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation demand': CJP after second meeting“The government has asked for time till tomorrow afternoon on our demand for Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation. We hope the government will remove him soon. The government has expressed in-principle approval on the two demands of compensation [for families of NEET aspirants who died by suicide] and withdrawal of FIRs, legal cases on students,” he said.“JP Nadda and Dr Jitendra Singh ji were apprised of increasing anger and discontentment amongst public, which won’t stop until Pradhan’s resignation,” he added.The CJP memorandum also asked that security forces and the government apologise for the violence on July 20, and that the demands be accepted at the earliest. “If not, the movement would only grow bigger and spread across the country,” it said.The developments came a day after a dramatic midnight video appeal by PM Narendra Modi, who promised a new law to tackle examination question paper leaks and fast-track courts to deal with those accused of the crime. Minutes later, activist Sonam Wangchuk broke his 26-day-long hunger strike in the presence of Nadda and Singh at Medanta Hospital in Gurugram. Wangchuk had started fasting last month to support student protesters, before being forcibly removed from Jantar Mantar last week. But the CJP clarified that while it welcomed Wangchuk ending his strike, the stir will continue.On Friday, Modi thanked youngsters for the response to his video. In a fresh video message, he said: “Thank you friends. I had the opportunity to meet you late last night. I appreciate the way you responded to my video and your positive suggestions.”Over the past 48 hours, the government has kicked up several gears its efforts to end the impasse with students, whose protest at Jantar Mantar continues to draw thousands of people pouring in from every corner of the Capital despite the closure of at least 15 metro stations for the past three days – one of the longest continuous metro station closures in Delhi Metro’s history – and the suspension of internet services for four days, also the longest in the Capital since the farmers’ protest in 2021. Delhi Police has also briefly detained over 150 people in south and southeast Delhi for carrying pepper spray or posters, triggering the ire of the agitators.On Friday, the cabinet – chaired by the PM at the Parliament House complex – approved the draft bill to hand stricter punishments to those involved in paper leaks as compared to the existing law, people aware of developments said. In his video message, Modi had promised that “more strict actions” against paper leaks will be discussed in the cabinet meeting. The bill will amend the 2024 Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, proposing a minimum punishment of five years in jail for individuals involved in paper leaks and/or a fine. The new bill may propose a jail term of up to 10 years and a maximum fine of ₹10 crore in case of organised paper leaks, the people cited above said.The present law has provisions for three to five years’ imprisonment for individuals, and five to 10 years’ imprisonment and a minimum fine of ₹1 crore for those involved in the organised crime of cheating and paper leaks.The existing law is aimed at curbing leaks, malpractices as well as organised malpractices in recruitment examinations and entrance tests.To be sure, NEET was embroiled in controversy in 2024 and 2026 – both coming after the 2024 law was passed.Also Read I Who is Naresh Pal Gangwar? New education secretary appointed amid CJP protestThe new bill is likely to come up in Parliament on Monday, as announced by Modi in his video message. But the Opposition has indicated that it will allow no discussion to take place in Parliament until Pradhan resigns. The first week of the monsoon session was washed out as a result.In the evening, the government announced a large-scale culling in the National Testing Agency, which organises NEET and other major exams such as JEE Mains, CUET and UGC-NET. NTA terminated 47 officials –– both permanent and contractual –– and said legal and criminal actions will be taken against some, with people aware of developments describing the action as part of a complete overhaul of NTA, which has been mired in controversy over paper leaks. As part of its institutional overhaul, the NTA has begun recruiting specialist leadership in cybersecurity, digital forensics, assessment research and test-centre operations. It has advertised four General Manager positions on three-year contracts and, for the first time, 16 Young Professional posts through UPSC’s PRATIBHA Setu portal in academic research, legal research, and finance.The agency said the hiring is aimed at reducing dependence on contractual and outsourced staff, strengthening in-house expertise and implementing the Radhakrishnan committee’s recommendations. More recruitment across 10 functional verticals and fresh empanelment of subject experts and translators are planned. Since 2018, NTA has conducted more than 270 examinations covering over 66 million registered candidates.Born out of a controversial remark by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant earlier this year, the CJP first garnered millions of followers on social media before launching a sit-in protest on June 6 demanding the resignation of Pradhan over repeated question paper leaks. After days of tepid crowds, the movement was galvanised by the hunger strike and forcible removal of activist Sonam Wangchuk last week. Track live updates hereAlso Read I CJP protest prompts rare selfie message from Modi on paper leak: Here's what PM saidCrowds swelled through the weekend and by Monday morning, columns of people – many of them students, first-time agitators and young professionals – had defied a steady drizzle and police barricading to join what became the largest street protests in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s third term. Over 100 protesters and 129 security personnel were injured, and 15 first information reports have been filed by the police. One protester remains in ICU.Tensions have sporadically flared at the protest site, most dramatically on Wednesday night when clashes between protesters and police led to injuries to five agitators and five police personnel. Visuals of the clashes – which broke out on Sansad Marg – showed hundreds of people on the streets, stone pelting and tear-gas shelling, and scores of police and paramilitary personnel in riot gear hitting out with batons.