Jharkhand recruitment exam row: BJP leaders demand CBI probe, slam government

Ranchi: Three senior Jharkhand BJP leaders -- Champai Soren, Sanjay Seth and Babulal Marandi -- on Saturday accused the JMM-led government of using force against protesting job aspirants and demanded a CBI probe into alleged irregularities in recruitment exams.

Talking to reporters, former chief minister Champai Soren accused the state government of cheating job aspirants and using police force against those seeking a fair probe into the alleged irregularities.

He demanded that the state government recommend a CBI inquiry into the alleged irregularities, claiming that the ruling alliance had no intention of providing justice to the protesting job aspirants.


"JMM workers and police thrashed the students who were peacefully protesting and attempting to burn effigies of the chief minister. The students had also taken permission from the administration. Despite this, they were beaten. It happened not only in Ranchi but also in other districts of the state," Soren alleged.

A scuffle broke out on Friday between police and students protesting against alleged irregularities in Jharkhand recruitment examinations in Ranchi, Hazaribag, Giridih and other districts.

The protesters had attempted to burn effigies of Chief Minister Hemant Soren and the Congress.

The BJP leader alleged that the government had already weakened the case concerning alleged irregularities in examinations conducted by the Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC).

"Former JPSC chairman is in jail, while other members have been forced to resign. Now, who will submit the documents related to irregularities?" he asked.

Soren further alleged that the students had understood the government's "trick".

"Feeling cheated, the protesting students during Friday's programme were just demanding that the government present the correct facts before the court and follow the entire legal procedure," he alleged.

The JMM-led government's decision to cancel 22 job examinations and order a probe into 23 others had brought the 26-day agitation against alleged irregularities in recruitment examinations to an end.

However, it triggered another protest by successful candidates, many of whom approached the high court fearing that their jobs could be affected.

Hearing their pleas, the high court stayed several government notifications cancelling recruitment examinations.

This led to discontent among the exam protesters, who took out a protest march on Friday.

Minister of State for Defence Sanjay Seth also demanded a CBI probe into all recruitment examinations, including those conducted by the JPSC and the Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission (JSSC)-CGL, over the past six years.

"I condemned Friday's incident in which innocent students were assaulted by JMM goons and subjected to lathi-charges by police in Ranchi, Hazaribag, Giridih and Garhwa," he said while addressing reporters at the BJP headquarters here.

Seth alleged that people in power in the state had extorted more than Rs 1,000 crore by "selling jobs".

Meanwhile, addressing a press conference in Giridih district, Leader of Opposition Babulal Marandi condemned the alleged attacks on job aspirants by JMM workers in various districts, calling them an assault on democracy and constitutional rights.

He alleged that students protesting against alleged irregularities in recruitment examinations were assaulted in different parts of the state, including Giridih, Ranchi and Hazaribag.

Marandi demanded the immediate arrest of those involved in the alleged assaults and reiterated the BJP's demand for a CBI probe into the recruitment examinations.

"The attempt to silence students' voices with sticks and batons is an attack on democracy. This hooliganism will be given a befitting reply," Marandi said.