Students protesting alleged irregularities in government recruitment examinations in Jharkhand are set to march to the state Assembly on Monday after talks with the Hemant Soren government ended without a breakthrough on Sunday.
Both sides accused each other of not being serious about resolving the issue, with the deadlock centred on the students’ demand for a CBI probe into alleged irregularities in recruitment examinations and cancellation of a Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission (JSSC) examination. The government has rejected these demands.
The protesters said the Assembly march would go ahead despite appeals from Chief Minister Hemant Soren and Governor Santosh Kumar Gangwar to return to the negotiating table. Security arrangements have been tightened across Ranchi ahead of the protest.
“Even after three rounds of talks, the government has not conceded to 100 per cent of our demands. Regarding the march to the Legislative Assembly scheduled for Monday, aspirants and our fellow supporters from all districts of Jharkhand are extending our moral support. We will march in large numbers from the old Assembly building to the new one, conducting this as a completely peaceful march,” student leader Sanjay Mehta said.
According to Mehta, the protesters’ key demands include cancellation of the Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission (JSSC) Combined Graduate Level (CGL) examination, a CBI probe into the alleged irregularities, acceptance of the examination reform model proposed by the students and adherence to their suggested recruitment calendar.
“If the government fails to meet even a single one of these demands, the movement will continue until they are fulfilled,” he said.
The protest leaders have urged the agitators to remain united and peaceful, march together to the Assembly without disrupting traffic or inconveniencing the public, avoid confrontation with police, report any signs of disorder and continue pressing their demands peacefully while verifying information and avoiding rumours.
Devendra Nath Mahto, who has been on a hunger strike for eight days, urged students and parents across Jharkhand to join the planned Assembly march on Monday, calling August 10 “a very important day for Jharkhand”.
“Students have been troubled by paper leaks in every examination, and we are fighting against this,” Mahto said, adding that he had lost 10 kg, suffered a drop in blood sugar and was in severe pain. “But the pain of seeing question papers being leaked and students being denied jobs is greater than this physical pain.”
Calling Monday a “decisive day” for the movement, Mahto appealed to protesters to gather at the Old Assembly Ground at 10.30 am and march towards the Assembly. He urged them to remain peaceful and follow the law despite administrative restrictions.
“Our student delegation has held two rounds of talks with the government. To a large extent, our movement has received a positive response, but it is not sufficient. Complete reforms are necessary,” he said.
“Tomorrow (Monday) is a very important day for Jharkhand. It is our decisive battle so that children from poor families, farmers’ families, working-class families and rural areas can get jobs. There should be no manipulation, no setting and no paper leaks in any examination,” Mahto said.
The protest in Ranchi entered its 17th day on Monday, with six students on indefinite hunger strike.
Students have rejected the government’s claim that it has accepted 98 per cent of their demands, saying the assertion does not reflect the outcome of the negotiations. They alleged that the government had agreed to cancel only three of the 13 examinations whose cancellation they had sought.
“The Jharkhand government is spreading lies that it fulfilled 98 per cent of our demands. It cancelled only three of the 13 exams sought by us,” a student leader said.
The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM)-led government, however, maintained that it had agreed to most of the students’ demands and urged them to withdraw the agitation and continue negotiations.
“It is unfortunate that students are not ready to withdraw the agitation, though we agreed to most of their demands. There is no intention to save any culprit involved in exam irregularities,” Higher and Technical Education Minister Sudivya Kumar, a member of the government panel, said.
The government said it had agreed to cancel the 14th JPSC examination and proposed an Enforcement Directorate probe into alleged financial irregularities in the JPSC examination.
It has also announced a fast-track court mechanism under which charge sheets in cases related to examination irregularities would be filed within 90 days.
As part of examination reforms, the government has proposed an expert panel comprising representatives from IIT-ISM Dhanbad, IIM Ranchi and XLRI Jamshedpur.
It has also proposed a committee headed by a retired High Court judge to examine the JSSC-CGL issue.
The state has launched a portal seeking students’ suggestions on examination reforms and said it would formulate a standard operating procedure to ensure greater transparency in future recruitment examinations.
The government, however, has rejected the demand for a CBI probe into the JSSC-CGL examination, arguing that the examination was conducted under the monitoring of the High Court and the Supreme Court.
The disagreement over the nature of the probe remains the central sticking point in the negotiations.
Chief Minister Hemant Soren said those responsible for examination irregularities would face strict action and assured protesting students that justice would be delivered transparently.
He also cautioned against politicising the agitation and urged students not to be misled by political interests.
Governor Santosh Kumar Gangwar also appealed to the protesters to resolve the matter through dialogue, saying the government’s doors remained open.
Gangwar said the authorities did not want to compromise the future of students.
The government panel also met Mahto, whose health condition worsened on Sunday and appealed to him to withdraw his hunger strike.
Amid the protests and allegations, three Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC) members resigned on Sunday.
Governor Santosh Kumar Gangwar accepted the resignations of Ajeeta Bhattacharya, Anima Hansda and Jamal Ahmad, according to a statement issued by the Lok Bhavan.
The resignations came after the Jharkhand CID summoned all three members for questioning in connection with allegations including paper leaks.
Bhattacharya, the wife of JMM leader Supriyo Bhattacharyya, is scheduled to be questioned on August 10, Ahmad on August 12 and Hansda on August 14.
JPSC chairman L Khiangte had resigned on July 22. Officials said 19 people have so far been arrested in connection with alleged irregularities in JPSC examinations.
Khiangte has been questioned four times since July 28. The CID questioned him for nine hours on July 28 and for eight hours each on July 29 and July 31.
He resigned a day before the CID searched multiple locations, including his official residence, in connection with the alleged irregularities. Khiangte said he had "voluntarily chosen to resign" to ensure an impartial investigation.
The JPSC had earlier postponed the Combined Civil Services Mains Examination, scheduled from July 25 to July 27, citing "unavoidable circumstances" amid the protests.
The Jharkhand Police has made elaborate security arrangements across Ranchi ahead of Monday’s march and imposed prohibitory orders around the Assembly premises. Senior officials said the police administration had been put on alert in view of the possibility of unrest during the proposed march.
Cops urged the students to maintain the peaceful and disciplined character they had demonstrated during the two-week-long agitation.
“It is their responsibility to ensure that anti-social elements and troublemakers are prevented from joining the march,” Additional Director General of Police, Manoj Kaushik, said.
Ranchi SSP Rakesh Ranjan added, "We do not want a blot on the career of any student due to disruption of law and order. Barricades have been put in place at major points with the deployment of an adequate police force across the city".
A prohibitory order has been imposed within a 750-metre radius of the Vidhan Sabha building from August 6 to August 12 and will remain in force between 6 am and 10 pm during this period.
A similar prohibitory order was imposed from Sunday midnight in Jamshedpur in view of the protest march planned in Ranchi.
The Ranchi district administration has appealed to the protesting students to refrain from aggressive demonstrations and cautioned against violence and illegal activities during the march.
The government has also said that elaborate security arrangements have been made and that no student would be harassed during the protest.
Most schools are expected to remain closed on Monday in view of the planned agitation.
The protesters, however, alleged that hundreds of students travelling to Ranchi from different parts of Jharkhand were being stopped by police from reaching the state capital.
