AISA chief urges Oppn to stand with protesting students in Jharkhand, NALSAR

All India Students’ Association (AISA) president Neha Bora on Sunday urged Opposition parties to extend their support to students protesting in Jharkhand and at universities in Hyderabad.

Bora said Members of Parliament had a responsibility to take issues raised by citizens on the streets into Parliament. While acknowledging the support extended by INDIA bloc parties to the recent student demonstrations at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar, she called on them to stand with students in Jharkhand and at the NALSAR University of Law and the English and Foreign Languages University (EFLU).

“Their job is to raise in Parliament what the streets in the country are already raising. It was wonderful to see opposition parties and members of the INDIA bloc stand in solidarity with us during the Jantar Mantar protests. I would urge all these political parties to also support the students of Jharkhand, NALSAR University of Law and EFLU,” Bora told PTI Videos.

Students and job aspirants in Jharkhand have been protesting under the banner of the JPSC-JSSC Reforms Manch since 25 July. They have alleged irregularities in recruitment examinations conducted by the Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC) and the Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission (JSSC).

Their demands include greater transparency in recruitment examinations, reforms in the functioning of the two commissions and the cancellation of several examinations. They have also sought an independent investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation or a panel comprising retired high court judges from outside Jharkhand.

At Hyderabad-based NALSAR University of Law, a section of students wrote to the Vice-Chancellor, Registrar and faculty members in July, opposing a proposal to invite Chief Justice of India Surya Kant as the chief guest at the university’s convocation.

Meanwhile, tensions at EFLU escalated on 14 August when a clash between members of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad and the National Students’ Union of India left at least seven students injured. Police subsequently registered cases in connection with the incident.

Bora had earlier undertaken a 23-day hunger strike alongside activist Sonam Wangchuk during the student-led agitation over alleged irregularities and paper leaks in the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test. The demonstrations at Jantar Mantar were led by the Cockroach Janta Party and continued for 36 days, from 20 June to 25 July.

She said the agitation had gone beyond allegations of examination paper leaks and highlighted deeper problems within the education and employment systems.

“It exposed a system that had been failing the country’s young people for years. It was not only about paper leaks but also the severe unemployment crisis. People had had enough and wanted change,” she said.

The Jantar Mantar protests concluded on 25 July following the resignation of Dharmendra Pradhan as Union education minister.

With PTI inputs