We are now pausing our live coverage of the CJP's protest in Delhi.

It has been a dramatic day of marches, violence, political meetings and police action.

By evening, many protesters remained at Jantar Mantar, even as police continued urging people to leave. It remains unclear whether the CJP will call off its protest or continue its sit-in.

Activist Sonam Wangchuk, who has become a focal point of the demonstrations through his hunger strike in support of the movement, said he would continue his fast.

You can read about this story in our main news article.

We will continue to follow developments and bring you the latest as they unfold.

Geeta Pandey
at Jantar Mantar

Some understanding appears to have been reached between the protesters and the police.

While the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) has not officially called off the protest, its leaders have just told supporters that their objective was to get the government's attention - and that they had achieved it today.

They were referring to their meeting with a senior government minister a few hours earlier.

Geeta Pandey
at Jantar Mantar

Protesters and police in riot gear remain in a tense standoff.

Negotiations appear to be under way, punctuated by chants and slogans from the crowd.

Tensions remain high after police used tear gas and batons to disperse protesters about an hour ago.

We have just heard from Indian federal Health Minister JP Nadda, who has urged protesters to end their demonstration and help restore "normalcy" in the capital.

Nadda, as we have reported, had earlier met representatives of the CJP.

In a post on X, he said protesters had approached the government for talks this morning for the first time.

"The meeting took place in a cordial atmosphere, and they [CJP protesters] submitted a written petition at 16:00 local time," he said.

Image source, JP Nadda/X

We had reported earlier that two CJP spokespersons had briefly met federal Health minister JP Nadda earlier in the day.

One of them, Saurav Das, posted on X a short while ago that they have conveyed their demands to Nadda, "including immediate resignation/sacking of Dharmendra Pradhan".

"The Minister assured us he will discuss this at the appropriate level. However, no commitments have been made so far. The peaceful protesters will not rest until the demand is met!" he wrote.

Nadda has not commented on the meeting yet. Pradhan has also not reacted to today's protests yet. Last month, in a media interview, he had called the CJP "the B-team of disruptive elements".

Image source, Saurav Das/X

Geeta Pandey
Reporting from Delhi

I have now been escorted out of a section of the protest site. Police are repeatedly telling students to vacate the site. The temporary stage where Sonam Wangchuk sat on a hunger strike and from which organisers used to give speeches has been dismantled by the police.

Dilnawaz Pasha
BBC Hindi, Delhi

I am standing near a well-known hotel in central Delhi, just over a kilometre from the parliament complex. Everywhere I look, there are protesters walking through the streets and chanting slogans.

Over the last hour or so, police have managed to disperse some of the crowd here and traffic has slowly started moving again. But large numbers of protesters are still on the streets.

The size of today's gathering has been unprecedented. Many of the young men and women I spoke to said they had travelled for hours to Delhi to take part in the protest march.

The CJP has managed to draw a much larger crowd than many had expected.

The National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) is India's main entrance exam for admission to medical colleges across the country. It

Nearly 2.28 million candidates sat the exam on 3 May, having studied for months - in some cases years - for the notoriously difficult paper. However, days later, it was cancelled after allegations that the questions had been leaked.

It was a big blow to aspirants, who had to resit the exam under tight security weeks later. Anger over this was one of the reasons the CJP began its protest.

It and families have also alleged that some 20 students died by suicide due to distress after the exam was cancelled.

The NEET exam was hit by controversy in 2024 as well over allegations of paper leaks, fraud and irregularities in the awarding of grace marks.

Geeta Pandey
Reporting from Jantar Mantar, Delhi

I'm at Jantar Mantar, where several thousands of people are still present. In the past few minutes, police personnel have come here wearing riot gear and used loudspeakers to tell protesters to leave the area, saying they don't have permission to stay there.

I have seen police pushing and shoving people. There is an atmosphere of chaos here, with people running helter-skelter. Until now, the atmosphere was peaceful.

India's opposition leaders have come out in support of the young protesters demanding education reform, with many criticising the police.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge described the police baton charging protesting students as "an attack on democracy". In a post on X, he said that if the government could not conduct examinations properly, it was not fit to remain in power.

All India Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra joined the protesters in the morning before attending the parliament session. Referring to the reports of baton charge, she wrote on X - "any government that attacks non-violent student protesters with brute force is on its last legs".

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav has also voiced support for the protesters, saying the students and protesters who have gathered in Delhi should be treated with respect. His wife, Samajwadi Party MP Dimple Yadav, had earlier joined protesters near Jantar Mantar.

Meanwhile, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor questioned the police action and told local media that "when a non-violent protest is taking place, what is the reason for a baton charge?".

He called it an act of violence and accused the government of being unwilling to discuss the alleged NEET paper leak in Parliament.

The Internet Freedom Foundation has condemned the shutdown of internet services in and around the protest site in central Delhi.

In a statement posted on X, the group said: "Amid reports of the use of force to disperse protesters, mobile internet was then switched off, reportedly "as a precautionary measure. We urge the immediate restoration of all telecommunication services in the capital."

There is no publicly available order regarding the suspension of internet services, it added.

Several social media users - including the Cockroach Janta Party account on X - have posted screenshots of messages from telecom operators saying that "internet services have been stopped in your area till further notice".

The BBC couldn't independently confirm the veracity of the message but our correspondents have also faced difficulties accessing internet in the vicinity of the protests.

Geeta Pandey
Reporting from Jantar Mantar, Delhi

At Jantar Mantar, rain has been pouring down steadily for some time now.

I've taken shelter under a small yellow plastic canopy that's protecting the sound system here.

When my phone was running low on battery, a college student came to the rescue with her power bank.

There's a sense of camaraderie here - a majority of the protesters are Gen Zs, bound by common struggles such as repeated exam paper leaks and a shortage of jobs and opportunities in the country.

Many told me they see this protest an attempt to change the situation for the better.

Two spokespersons of the CJP just confirmed to our correspondent, Geeta Pandey, who is at the protest site, that founder Abhijeet Dipke hasn't been detained by the police.

CJP spokesperson Saurav Das had earlier shared a post saying that he had been picked up. An hour later, he posted again, saying that Dipke had neither been detained nor arrested.

The CJP spokespersons at the protest told our reporter that the police had attempted to detain Dipke but were prevented by the crowds. The Delhi Police has not commented on the matter.

• Tens of thousands of protesters have gathered in central Delhi and are trying to march towards India's parliament, demanding the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
• The protesters have turned up for a protest called by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), a collective formed in May in response to anger over exam paper leaks.
• Security has been stepped up around the main protest site, Jantar Mantar, and parliament. Police and paramilitary forces have set up barricades along the route. Some protesters have been stopped, while others have reached areas near the parliament complex, where the monsoon session is under way.
• The spotlight on the protest intensified over the weekend after police forcibly moved Sonam Wangchuk, a well-known Indian activist, into hospital on the 21st day of his hunger strike. His wife says he is continuing to fast there.
• The protest is one of the biggest public displays of dissent in the Indian capital against Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government in recent years

CJP spokesperson Saurav Das says that he and another representative have just met federal Health Minister JP Nadda at his residence for 10 minutes after waiting for two hours.

"While we submit a letter with our demands, he has assured us that he will meanwhile speak internally [to members of the government]," he wrote on X.

Geeta Pandey
Reporting from Jantar Mantar, Delhi

Several protesters who allege they were injured after being baton-charged by the police are being given medical assistance at the protest site.

Dr Gaurish Batra said that he and his team had treated at least 10 protesters for injuries while others have been referred to hospitals.

When I spoke to Dr Batra at Jantar Mantar, he was tying a bandage around the head of a man whose shirt collar was soaked in blood.

A female protester with a broken leg was also brought in for treatment.

Both of them alleged they were baton-charged by the police. The BBC has contacted the Delhi Police for comment on the allegations.

Image source, Getty Images

We've been calling them the "cockroach protesters" all day. But what does an insect have to do with a youth protest movement in India?

Quite a lot, it turns out.

Despite the name, the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) isn't a political party. It is a student-led satirical collective founded by activist Abhijeet Dipke that emerged from anger over alleged paper leaks and irregularities in India's competitive entrance exams.

Its unusual name has its roots in a controversial remark made by India's chief justice, who compared sections of unemployed young people with "cockroaches" during a court hearing. The comment sparked criticism and was later withdrawn.

Dipke, however, seized on it. He adopted the cockroach as the movement's mascot, turning it into a tongue-in-cheek symbol of resilience.

What began as a satirical campaign on social media has since grown into a massive movement that has resonated with young people. The message, supporters say, is simple: you can try to ignore us, but we'll keep coming back.

Azadeh Moshiri
Reporting from Jantar Mantar, Delhi

There are more protesters than the venue can handle now, with thousands already crammed inside the site at Jantar Mantar.

Rows of police officers have formed barricades to contain the thousands who have gathered. CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke is urging protesters to stay put for now - and sit by the police barricades.

Those who haven’t been able to enter are outside, waiting to see what happens next.

In the meantime, dozens of protesters have crowded around journalists they allege are working for pro-government media, even chasing some of them out of the venue.

Dipke, who began a hunger strike on Saturday after Sonam Wangchuk was forcibly taken to the hospital, has ended his fast, CJP says.

The CJP posted on X that he did so after being persuaded by the parent of a student who allegedly died by suicide.

As we have reported, the CJP and families have alleged that at least 20 students have died by suicide after a key medical exam called NEET was cancelled over accusations of a paper leak.