From NEET protests to politics? What CJP's Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka have now revealed

Two names are trending after the big political shake-up: Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka. As the faces of the Cockroach Janta Party, they negotiated with government ministers and led the charge at Jantar Mantar's protests. Their demand? Justice over the NEET paper leak and accountability for the student suicides it triggered. It worked — Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan quit, and Pralhad Joshi was given the ministry. Now the buzz is about their next move. Are Das and Ranka about to go from protest leaders to full-time politicians? Read on.

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Ashutosh Ranka, Saurav Das on joining full-time politics

In an interview with NDTV, CJP spokesperson Ashutosh Ranka said that he has been away from home for a couple of months and wants to go home, get some rest, and meet his family. 

"The only thing on my mind is to go home and sleep, get some rest, and meet my family. I have been away from home for the last couple of months and I really want to just relax, just reflect on all that has happened in the last two months. I think it's overwhelming for all of us. It is a moment for pride. It is a moment to be really happy, to be relieved. And after that, we will see how it goes," Ranka said.

When asked whether he would join full-time politics, he said, "Never say no to anything in India is what I feel." 

His colleague Saurav Das said that joining full-time politics is not the CJP's immediate goal. Das added that the movement has to go to the grassroots as there are 750-800 political parties and none of them can fulfil the youth's aspirations. "And we want to take this movement to the grassroots so that, be it any political party or political leader in power, they will be able to work for the youth and fulfil their demands. That is our agenda right now," the investigative journalist-activist noted. 

Dharmendra Pradhan resignation 

On Saturday, Pradhan tendered his resignation as the Education Minister following weeks of protests against the NEET-UG 2026 paper leak and other alleged exam irregularities. In his resignation statement, he said that he did not want "anti-national forces" to take undue advantage of the situation and wanted to ensure that "the unity of the nation remains intact". 

"I do not want even one student's future to become entangled in legal complexities. Our children should devote their time to studies and building their careers," he wrote. 

With this, Pradhan became the third minister to resign from the Modi government. In October 2018, M J Akbar resigned as the Minister of State for External Affairs following sexual harassment allegations during the #MeToo movement. In August 2017, Suresh Prabhu resigned as the Union Railway Minister to take "full moral responsibility" for a series of train accidents, including the Utkal Express derailment in Khatauli which claimed the lives of 20 people and the Kaifiyat Express derailment in Auraiya which injured 70-100 passengers.