Ranchi
The protest over irregularities in recruitment examinations conducted by the Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC) and Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission (JSSC) entered its 24th day on Monday.
Gathered in large numbers at Ranchi’s Jaipal Singh Munda Stadium, students have been continuously demonstrating to press for their demands over strict action against examination irregularities. They have also called for a siege of the Chief Minister’s residence on August 20. Meanwhile, a fourth round of talks between government representatives and the protesting students is scheduled for Monday. The future direction of the movement will become clear only after the dialogue between the government and the students. Three rounds of talks had not resulted in any resolution.
Student leader Devendra Nath Mahto, who entered his 15th day of hunger strike, said that the students’ movement has received support from the entire state as well as from the country. Speaking to IANS, Mahto said, “The students work very hard; they should not have to face paper leaks, they should not have to face cheating, and they should not have to face selling of jobs. There should be such a system, such reforms, and the government should give a guarantee that there will never be a paper leak in the future. I hope there is agreement on all these points, because I have seen many times in my life cancellations, and many times I have seen CID investigations; however, nothing substantial came out of it. We need reforms; a complete transformation of the education system.” Prem Nayak, who is on a hunger strike, told IANS that while the government had invited them for talks several times previously, the discussions were evasive and inconclusive, adding that this time, too, they had little hope of resolution.
“This is the 14th day of my hunger strike and the 24th day of the sit-in. Our health is steadily deteriorating; we are unable to sit, walk, or sleep… It does not seem likely that we will be able to hold out for much longer,” he said. Nayak stated that the government needs to take the matter seriously, as the students’ demands are legitimate. “Therefore, the government should take immediate action and fulfil these demands. It is not too late yet; the protest has been conducted in a Gandhian manner so far. If the demands are not met, students could become aggressive in the future, and the government would have to bear the consequences. The government cannot be greater than the people,” he added. Meanwhile, student leader Ravindra Paswan said, “We have high hopes for today’s meeting; all our demands should be met. We remain firm on our demands. We will continue our agitation until our demands are fulfilled. We received the invitation for talks through the CDO. We are going for the dialogue again today, but our demands remain non-negotiable; we will not compromise on them.”
“This is the 24th day of our indefinite sit-in protest. Four of our colleagues have been on a hunger strike for the past 12-13 days; two are hospitalised, while the other two are present at the protest site,” he stated. Rahul Kranti, who is admitted at Sadar Hospital after his condition worsened due to the hunger strike, criticised the Hemant Soren government and said that due to its “incompetence”, students are suffering in Jharkhand. Speaking to IANS, Kranti said, “Given the government’s attitude and the statements coming from it, we do not think the talks will be successful. Our demands include a CBI investigation, cancellation of the 11-13 JPSC examinations, cancellation of the CGL examination, and an investigation into all examinations conducted since 2019. We believe corruption has been found in all these examinations under both the Hemant-1 and Hemant-2 governments.”