Rahul Gandhi hails ‘understanding’ between Jharkhand government and students

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday welcomed the agreement reached between the Jharkhand government and students protesting over alleged irregularities in recruitment examinations, describing dialogue and restraint as the right way to resolve such disputes.

The Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha said he was pleased that the students had ended their hunger strike after the state government accepted their demands.

“An understanding has been reached between the students of Jharkhand and the state government, and the students have ended their hunger strike — it was heartening to hear this news,” Gandhi said in a Hindi post on X.

He praised Chief Minister Hemant Soren and his government for engaging with the protesters to find a resolution. Gandhi also commended the students for maintaining restraint throughout the agitation.

“Chief Minister Hemant Soren ji and the Jharkhand government chose the path of dialogue and arrived at a solution. The students exercised restraint and made their demands accepted,” he said.

Gandhi had earlier spoken to aspirants protesting over alleged irregularities in examinations conducted by the Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC) and the Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission (JSSC), assuring them of his support.

The protesters had sought the cancellation of the Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission-Combined Graduate Level (JSSC-CGL) examination, an impartial investigation into the alleged irregularities and wider reforms in the state’s recruitment system.

Student leader Devendra Mahto ended his 16-day hunger strike following the cancellation of the JSSC-CGL examination. Addressing the media, he called for stronger measures to prevent question-paper leaks and ensure justice for affected candidates.

“There has to be an end to these paper leaks. There’s barely ever any justice to students affected by the leaks,” Mahto said.

Jharkhand Higher and Technical Education Minister Sudivya Kumar said candidates who had cleared the JSSC-CGL examination could approach the courts. Jharkhand Mukti Morcha spokesperson Manoj Pandey acknowledged their concerns and said the party was sympathetic to them.

Rashtriya Janata Dal MP Manoj Kumar Jha also praised the Jharkhand government, saying it had responded to the students’ concerns with sensitivity.

He contrasted its handling of the protest with coercive responses elsewhere and said governments, including the Centre, could not avoid addressing students’ concerns by labelling protesters “anti-national” or “Dimagi Naxals”.

Gandhi said the wider system governing examinations and recruitment needed to be transformed across the country so that it enabled young people to progress instead of creating obstacles for them.

With agency inputs