New Delhi: The Centre is unlikely to seek the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan despite mounting protests over the alleged NEET paper leak, with the government maintaining that he cannot be held responsible for the examination irregularities, according to a PTI report.

A senior government official told the news agency that the top leadership believes Pradhan should not be blamed for the paper leak and is expected to continue in the Union Cabinet.

At the same time, the government has indicated its willingness to hold fresh discussions with the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), which has been leading protests demanding Pradhan’s resignation. According to the report, the Centre has urged flexibility over the venue for the proposed meeting after the outfit insisted on holding talks at a neutral location near Jantar Mantar.

The development comes as protests over alleged irregularities in competitive examinations continue to gather momentum.

On Thursday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that the government would establish fast-track courts to ensure swift and stringent punishment for those involved in paper leak cases. The announcement marked his first major public response to the nationwide protests.

However, the CJP said the Prime Minister’s announcement did not address the root causes of repeated examination leaks.

“It is good that after one and a half months of protests, the Prime Minister has finally taken notice,” CJP spokesperson Ashutosh Ranka told PTI. He argued that punishing those responsible after a leak occurs would not prevent future incidents and maintained that accountability within the system was the real issue.

Ranka reiterated that the protest would continue until Pradhan resigns.

The Centre has already initiated talks with the protesters. Union Health Minister J.P. Nadda met two CJP representatives, including spokesperson Saurav Das, earlier this week and assured them that their demands would be discussed with senior government leaders.

According to PTI, several high-level meetings involving Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Nadda, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal and Pradhan have also been held in recent days to assess the situation.

Nadda has since reiterated the government’s willingness to continue negotiations. Das, however, said the protesters would agree to another meeting only at a neutral venue near Jantar Mantar and if the government demonstrated a genuine intention to address their demands.

The report also said the government is open to favourably considering compensation for the families of those who allegedly died by suicide following the NEET paper leak controversy.

Meanwhile, Union Minister Jitendra Singh accused Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi of changing his stand after initially seeking a parliamentary debate on the issue and later making Pradhan’s resignation a precondition. Gandhi, however, has continued to demand the minister’s resignation, describing it as non-negotiable.

As part of the government’s outreach efforts, Nadda reportedly visited injured protesters at Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital and also met activist Sonam Wangchuk at a Gurugram hospital.

Wangchuk has been on an indefinite hunger strike since June 28 after joining the CJP-led agitation seeking accountability for alleged examination irregularities, reforms in the education system and Pradhan’s resignation.

The CJP has been spearheading protests over alleged examination irregularities since June. During its Parliament march on July 20, protesters were stopped near Parliament Street after police deployed multiple barricades and used force, including tear gas and a lathicharge, to prevent them from advancing.