Talks between the Indian government and leaders of the youth-led "Cockroach" movement failed to make headway on Friday, as protesters gathered across the country to push for an overhaul of the education system.
Senior ministers JP Nadda and Jitendra Singh met with leaders of the social media-driven Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) for two hours of talks on the group's demands, which include a call for the resignation of the education minister, Dharmendra Pradhan.
Both sides said the talks would resume on Saturday.
"We conveyed in very clear terms that nothing short of Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation or his removal from the Union Cabinet would be acceptable," CJP spokesperson Ashutosh Ranka told reporters after the meeting in New Delhi.
Nadda, who also met with protesters in New Delhi on Monday, said the government had "heard their points" and was expected to respond in follow-up talks.
The Jantar Mantar protest site in New Delhi has seen bouts of unrest and violence during the week that snowballed after police fired tear gas and baton-charged demonstrators as they tried to march to parliament.
Demanding justice, education minister resignation
The movement spread beyond the capital, with large protests held in several other cities including Kolkata and Mumbai.
Traffic in parts of eastern Kolkata came to a standstill for several hours as thousands of students marched through the streets, identifying themselves as "cockroaches". Waving the Indian flag, they chanted slogans saying "we want justice for police atrocities against students in Delhi".
Similar scenes unfolded in the country's financial capital, Mumbai, where hundreds of protesters raised slogans demanding Pradhan's resignation.
A series of irregularities has stoked public anger, including the leak of a medical entrance exam paper - forcing millions to retake the exam - and a failure in an online marking system for high school students.
The movement has evolved to include concerns over unemployment, opportunities for young people and what critics brand as Prime Minister Narendra Modi's increasingly authoritarian style of governance - in one of the biggest challenges to the Hindu-nationalist's administration since his 2024 re-election.
Opposition support
Modi has so far pledged legal reforms and swift punishment for those involved in the exam paper leaks.
At Delhi's 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."
India's opposition parties, who have thrown their weight behind the protesters, disrupted proceedings in the lower house of parliament on Friday, saying they would not allow any debate until Pradhan steps down.
Rahul Gandhi accused police of using pellet guns and batons against thousands of youth protesters on Monday, after meeting an injured demonstrator in hospital.
Modi said on Thursday his cabinet would discuss speeding up court proceedings against exam-leak offenders, with draft legislation finalised after incorporating cabinet colleagues' suggestions.
"We will make every effort to have the bill introduced and passed by the House at the earliest," Modi added.
