Leaders of India's youth-led "Cockroach" movement held a second round of talks with government officials on Friday, after Prime Minister Narendra Modi pledged legal reforms and swift punishment for those involved in exam paper leaks.
The Indian capital has been rocked by demonstrations led by the social media-driven Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) this week, which has demanded an overhaul of the education system and the resignation of the education minister after repeated testing scandals.
In one of the biggest challenges to Hindu-nationalist Modi's administration since his 2024 re-election for a third term, thousands have been protesting calling for reform -- with Monday's marches turning into violent clashes with police.
At the Jantar Mantar protest site, student Sushmita, 20 said she felt the government dragged its feet on the issue for too long.
"Why did it take the government this long to announce the steps?" she told AFP.
"I don't know how Modi and this government can come back to us for support during the next elections."
The protest has since evolved to include concerns over unemployment, opportunities for young people and what critics have called Modi's increasingly authoritarian style of governance.
"We hope that the government comes with an open mind and it will listen to the people of this country who have been out on the roads for so long," a spokesperson from the youth-led movement Saurav Das told reporters ahead of Friday's meeting with senior ministers JP Nadda and Jitendra Singh.
"We will explain our demands to them in detail. And we hope that the government will listen to us," Das said.
India's opposition parties backed the protest and disrupted proceedings in the lower house of parliament Friday, urging Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan to step down before any debate on proposed reforms takes place.
"You (opposition parties) have been asking for a debate since the start and the government is ready. Don't put any conditions," Kiren Rijiju from Modi's ruling Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) said.
"I don't understand why we can't have a good and healthy discussion on this issue."
In a late-night social media post, Modi said his cabinet would discuss measures on Friday to speed up court proceedings against those involved in examination leaks. His post did not mention Pradhan's resignation.
After "incorporating the suggestions of my cabinet colleagues", a draft legislation would be given "its final shape", he said.
"We will make every effort to have the bill introduced and passed by the House at the earliest," Modi added.
The prime minister's intervention followed mounting pressure from protesters and civil rights groups and a first round of talks with Nadda on Monday.
Prominent activist Sonam Wangchuk, who ended a 26-day hunger strike in support of the movement late Thursday, said the government had assured him that no action would be taken against peaceful demonstrators.
"They also assured us that parliament would hold a full debate on the issue and on improving accountability in the education and examination system," he said on social media.
Protests escalated on Monday when police fired tear gas and used batons against tens of thousands of demonstrators in New Delhi, the capital's largest street rally in five years.
Founder of the social media movement Abhijeet Dipke welcomed Wangchuk's decision to end his hunger strike but said the movement would continue until their demands are met.
"By putting your own life on the line, you awakened the conscience of an entire nation," Dipke, 30, said in a social media post, referring to Wangchuk.
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