Ranchi, Aug 7 (PTI): As the agitation over alleged irregularities in Jharkhand recruitment examinations entered its 14th day, talks between the state government and student protesters on Friday failed to break the deadlock, with students deciding to continue their protest and hunger strike until their demands, including cancellation of the 14th JPSC examination, are met.
The students also warned that they would go ahead with their planned Vidhan Sabha march on August 10 if the government failed to fulfil their demands by Sunday.
The first round of discussions was held between a 10-member delegation of the JPSC/JSSC Reforms Manch and a government panel headed by Higher and Technical Education Minister Sudivya Kumar.
The meeting came after the protesters submitted a revised delegation list, replacing an earlier 11-member panel to which the government had objected over the inclusion of an advocate.
“The meeting was held in a positive atmosphere, and the government assured us that our demands would be considered. However, we have decided to continue our protest until all our demands, including cancellation of the 14th JPSC examination, are fulfilled,” a JPSC/JSSC Reforms Manch leader said after the meeting.
The students are demanding cancellation of the 14th Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC) exam, an independent probe into the alleged irregularities either by the CBI or by a panel of retired high court judges from outside the state, besides comprehensive reforms in the JPSC and Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission (JSSC).
“We met the students’ delegation and are sensitive to their concerns. We are ready to consider their demands sympathetically, and the outcome will be visible soon,” Kumar told reporters.
Minister Dipika Pandey Singh said the students’ demands had been conveyed to Chief Minister Hemant Soren.
“The chief minister is concerned about students and an outcome will come soon,” she said.
Soren had earlier said his government was ready for dialogue with the protesting students.
“We are ready to hold talks. Every student in the state is welcome to place their grievances before us. We will move ahead with strong reforms in line with students’ demands,” he said.
Even as one delegation met the government, another group led by Jharkhand Loktantrik Krantikari Morcha (JLKM) leader Devendra Nath Mahto, who has been on a hunger strike for six days, said it too had been invited for talks and had submitted the names of an eight-member delegation.
According to the group’s members, they have been invited to talks at 10 am on Saturday at the state guest house.
The agitation, which began on July 25 under the banner of the JPSC-JSSC Reforms Manch, entered its 14th day on Friday and has grown into one of Jharkhand’s largest student-led movements in recent years.
However, concerns over the health of the protesters deepened after student leader Rahul Kranti, one of six people on an indefinite hunger strike, was admitted to Ranchi Sadar Hospital after his condition deteriorated.
Kranti had been fasting since Tuesday night.
Leader of Opposition Babulal Marandi visited the hospital and urged the students not to risk their lives, saying they had a long battle ahead.
Health Minister Irfan Ansari also met Kranti on the chief minister’s instructions and said the students were receiving proper medical care under specialist supervision.
Earlier in the day, Kranti alleged that despite repeated requests, no doctors had visited the protest site until Friday morning.
The movement also drew support from across the political and social spectrum.
Jayant Jaipal Singh, son of tribal icon Jaipal Singh Munda, visited the protest site at the stadium named after his father and extended his support to the students.
He urged them to keep “bad elements, miscreants and outsiders” away from the movement and continue fighting for fair recruitment.
“This ground belongs to students and youth. They are using it for a constructive cause. I fully support their fight for free and fair examinations and for a Jharkhand free from corruption and nepotism,” he said.
Meanwhile, two Left-backed student organisations – the All India Students’ Association (AISA) and the All India Students’ Federation (AISF) – organised a march towards the Assembly in solidarity with the protesters.
The JPSC-JSSC Reforms Manch, however, clarified that it was not part of the march, though it welcomed moral support from any organisation.
The march was briefly disrupted when AISA national president Neha Bora was targeted with ink by a man near Birsa Chowk.
The accused, identified as Amarnath Pandey, was detained by police for questioning.
Bora alleged that the attack was an attempt to intimidate the student movement, while the BJP dismissed the charge, calling the incident a “stage-managed drama”.
The ABVP also denied any involvement and condemned the attack.
The issue also resonated inside the Jharkhand Assembly, where BJP legislators disrupted proceedings, demanding a court-monitored CBI probe into the alleged recruitment irregularities and forcing the House to be adjourned for the day.
Earlier, Minister Sudivya Kumar accused the BJP and the “coaching mafia” of trying to hijack a genuine students’ movement for political gains, even as he appealed to the protesters to continue engaging with the government.
Despite what both sides described as a positive dialogue, they insist the protest, hunger strike and planned August 10 Vidhan Sabha march will continue until the government backs its assurances with concrete action.
In view of the protest march, a prohibitory order has been promulgated within a 750-metre radius of the Vidhan Sabha building from August 6 to 12.
The order will be in place between 6 am and 10 pm on these days.
So far, 19 people have been arrested in connection with the irregularities in JPSC exams. Former JPSC chairman L Khiangte has been questioned four times since July 28. PTI NAM/SAN/RPS BDC NN MNB
(This story is published as part of the auto-generated syndicate wire feed. No editing has been done in the headline or the body by ABP Live.)
