Jharkhand students continue protest despite ‘positive’ second round of talks

Students protesting alleged irregularities in recruitment examinations conducted by the Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC) and the Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission (JSSC) have decided to continue their agitation despite describing their second round of talks with the state government as positive.

An eight-member delegation from the JPSC-JSSC Aspirant Nyay Manch said the JMM-led government had heard its concerns and given serious consideration to its demands. However, the protesters maintained that the agitation, including the indefinite hunger strike by several aspirants, would continue until the government announced concrete measures.

Amit, a member of the delegation, said the representatives had conveyed the difficulties faced by aspirants across Jharkhand. Among their key demands is compensation of Rs 1 crore each for the families of candidates who died during physical efficiency tests for the Jharkhand Excise Constable recruitment drive in 2024.

“We will continue the agitation till a concrete conclusion is reached,” he told IANS.

Amit said the delegation remained hopeful after receiving assurances that its demands would be considered. Referring to the government as a “guardian”, he added that the protesters expected it to act in the interests of the students who had voted it into power.

Another delegation member, Chandan, said the students had presented their demands with supporting facts and evidence. According to him, government representatives took note of their concerns and assured the delegation that the issues would soon be discussed with Chief Minister Hemant Soren.

“The meeting with the government was positive. We presented all our demands with facts and evidence,” he said, adding that the administration had indicated that action would be taken at the earliest.

However, Chandan sought a clear timeline for resolving the issues. He said the agitation and the hunger strike would continue until the demands were accepted.

The protesters have called for the cancellation of examinations conducted by TDPL for which results have yet to be declared. They have also demanded that future recruitment tests be conducted either by the commissions themselves or by an established agency such as Tata Consultancy Services.

Chandan alleged that assigning recruitment examinations to blacklisted or unreliable agencies jeopardised the future of thousands of candidates.

Ravishankar, another member of the delegation, said the government had given the representatives sufficient time to explain their concerns and had recorded the points raised during the meeting.

The delegation also sought a Central Bureau of Investigation probe into the JSSC Combined Graduate Level examination. It demanded that the test be cancelled if the investigation found evidence of irregularities.

Other demands include fast-tracking pending appointments, filling all vacancies linked to cancelled examinations within six months and publishing candidates’ merit lists.

Delegation member Dinabandhu Mandal said the discussions suggested that the government had taken the students’ concerns seriously. Nevertheless, he reiterated that the protest would continue until the authorities followed their assurances with action.

With IANS inputs