New Delhi: A day after the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) called off its nationwide agitation over the NEET paper leak controversy, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the government had never attempted to prevent young people from protesting and had respected their democratic right to express their concerns.
Speaking during the Business Leadership Awards 2026, Sitharaman responded to questions on whether the prolonged protests had caught the government by surprise. She said the Centre had allowed the demonstrations to take place and had not tried to suppress them at any stage.
The Finance Minister emphasised that the government recognised the importance of peaceful protests in a democracy. She said the youth had every right to raise their voices when they believed that institutions needed improvement and insisted that their concerns should be treated with respect rather than dismissed.
Reflecting on her own experience as a student at Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru University, Sitharaman said student activism has always been a part of campus life and that every generation of young people feels strongly about issues they believe are unjust. She added that she understood the emotions behind the recent demonstrations and did not wish to undermine the energy or commitment shown by the protesters.
According to Sitharaman, young people naturally expect governments to take timely, effective and responsive decisions. She said their willingness to protest stems from a desire to bring about positive change and strengthen public institutions. Calling it the spirit of youth, she said she welcomed such engagement and had no disagreement with their aspirations for better governance.
The remarks came shortly after the Cockroach Janta Party announced the end of its agitation, which had been launched over alleged examination irregularities and paper leaks. The movement concluded after former Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan resigned, fulfilling the group’s primary demand.
The protests had sparked a nationwide debate on the integrity of India’s examination system and prompted the government to announce a series of reforms, including a high powered task force to recommend changes aimed at improving the transparency, security and credibility of competitive examinations.
Sorry, there was a YouTube error.
