Jharkhand Students Reject Partial Deal, Seek CBI Probe

While the protesting students said that the government has not accepted all their demands, three serving members of the Jharkhand Public Service Commission — Ajita Bhattacharya, Jameel Ahmed and Anima Hansda — are learnt to have sent their resignations to governor Santosh Kumar Gangwar.
The government assured the agitators that the CID probe will be completed within 90 days, and the 14th JPSC and backlog examinations from 2023 to 2025 will be cancelled. The government also agreed to probe all the exams conducted by TSR Data Processing Private Limited and set up fast-track courts to speed up trials and appoint a retired judge to probe the Combined Graduate Level Recruitment exam conducted by the JSSC.
The agitators were also assured that all reforms will be finalised after consultation with students and a committee involving senior bureaucrats and academicians will be made part of the process. The protesters, however, held on to their demand for a CBI probe into the Jharkhand recruitment irregularities.
The fresh round of talks between an eight-member delegation of the JPSC-JSSC Reform Manch and four state ministers was held after discussions between the government and several student groups over Friday and Saturday failed to break the deadlock. Although the student representatives expressed satisfaction over the talks, they said their peaceful agitation will continue until concrete decisions are taken and formal orders issued on their demands.

The health of student leader Devendra Nath Mahto, who has been on an indefinite hunger strike for nearly a week, deteriorated as his blood glucose level was recorded at 53. In all, six protesters are on hunger strike. Another student on fast, Rahul Kranti, is under medical supervision at the Sadar Hospital's intensive care unit.
The governor has also urged the students to solve the matter through "dialogue" and not agitation, while saying that the government's doors are always open for them. Chief minister Hemant Soren pledged to deliver justice while asserting that dialogue, not batons, can solve all problems at home. Alleging that vested interests are working at full force to disrupt democracy in the state, he said the students' stir should not be politicised and warned those harbouring political ambitions against misguiding the youth.
Mr Soren said the youth's concern is his concern, and those involved in exam irregularities will face strict action. "Unable to accept the state's self-reliance, vested interests are working at full force in Jharkhand to disrupt democracy. Samvad and not 'lathi-danda-bandook' (dialogue, not batons) can solve all problems. Weapons are meant for enemies at the border. I promise the exam protesters that justice will be delivered with full transparency," the chief minister said, addressing Jharkhand Adivasi Mahotsav.
The CID probing the alleged irregularities in the examination has also intensified its action and summoned three serving members of the commission for questioning. The deadlock between the government and the agitators evoked political reactions, with Union minister Annapurna Devi demanding Mr Soren’s resignation over the decision to conduct the examination through a blacklisted company.
At the Jaipal Singh Munda Stadium in the heart of Ranchi, a weighing scale stacked with bundles resembling `500 notes sat beside the mock "rate card" for government jobs. Elsewhere students recited verses from Ramdhari Singh 'Dinkar's' poem Rashmirathi. The favourite section of the poem for the protesters was "Krishna Ki Chetavani", bringing Mahabharata into a modern-day recruitment protest.
"'Varsho tak van mein ghoom-ghoom, baadha-vighno ko choom-choom, sah dhoop-gham, paani, patthar, Pandav aaye kuchh aur nikhar'," recited the protesting students, drawing a parallel between the Pandavas' years of hardship and their own preparation for competitive examinations amid uncertainty over recruitment and appointments.

Some students have also put up a mock "Naukri Bikri Kendra" (Centre for Sale of Jobs) listing an assistant teacher post at `15 lakhs, deputy superintendent of police at `1.2 crores, block development officer at `90 lakhs and circle officer at `1 crore, among others.
Posters carrying photographs of Mr Soren depicted a fictitious scheme titled "Mukhyamantri Seat Becho Yojna" (CM Seat Sale Scheme) with the tongue-in-cheek line: "Payment karo aaram se, naukri pao samman se (Make payment at your leisure, get a job with respect)."
Another protester held up a poster depicting an apparent judge examining a paper through a microscope, alongside the sarcastic message: “Microscope itna powerful nikla ki saboot dekhe nahi, gayab kar diye gaye (The microscope was so powerful that the evidence could not be seen and had disappeared).”
Some posters prominently featured JMM central spokesperson Supriyo Bhattacharyya and his wife, who was appointed as a JPSC member, standing with the chief minister. On it is scribbled: "How can one expect fair JPSC exams when a friend and party leader's wife was made a JPSC member?… We neither demand coal mines nor the post of an MLA; we want cancellation of the JSSC/JPSC paper," read a placard held by a protesting student.
The support for the ongoing students’ agitation is growing by the day. Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge has also thrown his weight behind the protesting students. The Congress leader said he and Lok Sabha Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi will visit wherever students raise issues. "We have decided that if a chief minister belongs to our party or an alliance party, we will tell them that things need to be set right. The interests of our children are paramount; who stands with us and who doesn't is not the priority," he said.
Mr Kharge said: "Whether they are from Jharkhand, or Prayagraj, or the people who came to Jantar Mantar, or Bombay, or Kota, students are the same for us; they are important. Rahul Gandhi has raised this issue, and he will go there too."

Dumri MLA and Jharkhand Loktantrik Krantikari Morcha supremo Jairam Mahto also sat on a day-long fast on the old Vidhan Sabha premises. Activist Rajesh Hindustani, popularly known as "Tiranga Man", also joined the students' protest at Ranchi's Jaipal Singh Stadium. He claimed that he has been holding the tricolour for 15 years since the Anna Hazare movement against corruption. "I carry the tricolour every day to remind people of what is written in the Constitution," the activist, who had earlier joined students' protest against the Neet exam paper leak at Delhi's Jantar Mantar, said.
Union minister of state for defence Sanjay Seth, Jharkhand BJP chief and MP Aditya Sahu and the party's chief whip Naveen Jailswal also visited the protesting students.

"The chief minister should have met the students on the very first day of the protest. But he has been silent. The government has adopted the Britishers' 'divide and rule' policy by inviting different organisations for talks, seeking their charter of demands. There is no need for dialogue anymore. The students' demands are simple: cancelling the examination and probing the irregularities by the CBI,” Mr Seth said.

The government panel’s move to hold talks with different student groups has also drawn criticism from the JPSC-JSSC Reforms Manch, which has been leading the agitation. Reforms Manch delegate Ravindra Paswan had accused the government of trying to divide the protesting students and divert attention from their demands. "This is political manoeuvring by the government. It is trying to create a divide among students and divert attention. But they should know that all students are united," he said at a press conference.
Mr Paswan claimed that the Manch had already presented its demands to the five-member government panel during a detailed meeting on Friday night. He alleged that the government subsequently held separate discussions with other student organisations that had not played a role in the ongoing protest. The government said that the talks were held in a positive atmosphere.