Jharkhand govt holds talks with various outfits amid paper leak protests, fails to break deadlock

Ranchi: The Jharkhand government on Saturday held talks with various outfits amid the massive agitation over the alleged paper leaks in recruitment exams, but failed to break the deadlock as the protesting aspirants decided that their stir would continue until all their demands are met.

A five-member panel of the government, which included state ministers, first met the faction of protesters led by JLKM leader Devendra Nath Mahto, whose fast over the issue entered its seventh day. They then separately met delegations of the Congress-backed NSUI, ACS and JCM.

On Friday night, the government had held similar talks with a delegation of the JPSC/JSSC Reforms Manch.


Also Read: Student protest: Jharkhand government holds talks with Devendra Nath Mahto-led faction of protesting job aspirants

"Demands of protesting aspirants are genuine; we will place these before Chief Minister Hemant Soren," state minister Sanjay Prasad Yadav, who is a member of the panel set up by the government, said after the back-to-back meetings.

The ruling JMM's students' wing Jharkhand Chhatra Morcha (JCM) placed five demands before the government panel, including the cancellation of the 14th Jharkhand PSC Civil Services Examination.

The NSUI placed six demands before the government, including a CID probe into all JPSC and JSSC examinations under doubt within 90 days and the setting up of Jharkhand Testing Agency (JTA) on the lines of the National Testing Agency, its spokesperson Sanjiv Shah said.

Adivasi Chatra Sangh leader Kartik Oraon said, "We demanded inclusion of tribal and regional languages as qualifying papers in the recruitment examinations, besides cancellation of the tests in which irregularities were found..

The government panel's first meeting was with Mahto's grouping, JPSC JSSC Candidates' Forum, and it lasted around two hours.

"The government assured us of a quick decision to resolve the issues raised by us. However, our protests will continue until all our demands, including cancellation of the 14th JPSC exam, are met," a leader of the forum said.

State minister Dipika Pandey Singh said the talks were held in a positive atmosphere and recruitment discrepancies explained by students will be resolved soon.

Higher and Technical Education Minister Sudivya Kumar said the government has issued an email ID, jpsc.jssc.feedback@gmail.com, seeking suggestions from aspirants on reforming the recruitment processes.

The government undertook the parleys as the protest over the paper leaks entered its 15th day.

"We have been demanding immediate cancellation of the 14th Jharkhand PSC Civil Services Examination, and all exams conducted by that agency," Mahto told PTI.

He said since the students have been protesting peacefully for over two weeks, the state government should fulfil their demands immediately.

"They should not procrastinate on it. How the government responds to the demands will be interesting to see. If the government had fulfilled the demands on Friday after the talks they held with the 10-member delegation of students, there would be no need for the meeting today, because our demands are almost the same," Mahto said.

"My health condition is deteriorating day by day. Blood pressure and sugar levels are dropping. The doctor informed me about a chest infection and advised hospital admission. If these conditions continue, it will be dangerous for me. I am only able to listen, think, and speak slowly," he added.

A delegation of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) visited the protest site at Jaipal Singh Stadium and extended their support.

The group, led by CJP core committee member Mukesh, interacted with members of the JPSC-JSSC Reforms Manch, who have been on a hunger strike for the past five days.

"The CJP stands with the students of Jharkhand. We are not a political group. Wherever students face injustice and are deprived of their rights, we stand by them. We support the students' demand for transparency in the recruitment examination in Jharkhand," Mukesh said.

He was accompanied by Akshay, Ram Jakhar, Dr Nitin and Ayaj, among others.

Meanwhile, a day after the assembly march in Ranchi, members of the All India Students' Association (AISA) set up a separate platform at Jaipal Singh Munda Stadium to intensify their protest.

AISA president Neha Bora, who faced an "ink attack" during the assembly march, briefly joined the protest and raised slogans demanding cancellation of the 14th JPSC and JSSC-CGL examinations.

Also Read: JPSC row: Govt talks with another faction of protesters end without breakthrough, stir to continue

"We may be fighting from separate platforms, but our demands are the same, including cancellation of the 14th JPSC and JSSC-CGL examination, ensuring transparency and fixing responsibilities," AISA Ranchi president Vijay Kumar told PTI.

The protesters have demanded an independent probe into the alleged irregularities, either by the CBI or a panel of retired high court judges from outside the state.

As many as 19 people have so far been arrested in connection with alleged irregularities in the JPSC examinations, while former JPSC chairman L Khiangte has been questioned four times since July 28.