'Selling jobs like vegetables': Jharkhand stir hits day 14, Vidhan Sabha march planned

The protest against the alleged irregularities in recruitment exams in Jharkhand entered its 14th day on Friday with six demonstrators on a hunger strike, even as two student unions announced that they would hold a march to the state assembly, which is in session, during the day.

The announcement comes as the stalemate continues, with protesting students and job aspirants alleging that no formal invitation was received from the state government to discuss their demands and resolve the issues.

The demonstrators have been demanding cancellation of the 14th Jharkhand PSC Civil Services Examination and an independent probe into the alleged irregularities in the recruitment test either by the CBI or by a panel of retired high court judges from outside the state.

They also stressed comprehensive reforms in the Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC) and the Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission (JSSC).

The protesting students formed an 11-member delegation on Thursday to hold talks with the government to resolve the impasse after Chief Minister Hemant Soren said the doors of his government were open for a dialogue.

The proposed picketing at the assembly by the All India Students' Association (AISA) and the All India Students' Federation (AISF), a prohibitory order has been promulgated within a 750-metre radius of the Vidhan Sabha building from August 6 to 12. The order will be in place between 6 am and 10 pm on these days.

The ripples of the demonstration reached the Jharkhand assembly on Thursday with opposition MLAs raising slogans on its premises on the first day of the Monsoon Session.

The protest, which began on July 25 under the banner of the JPSC-JSSC Reforms Manch at Jaipal Singh Munda Stadium here, emerged as one of the biggest student-led movements in the state in recent years.

Five protesters, including two women, on Tuesday night joined Jharkhand Loktantrik Krantikari Morcha (JLKM) leader Devendra Nath Mahto in his hunger strike. He has been on fast for the past six days.

Social activist Sonam Wangchuk, who recently observed a 26-day hunger strike in Delhi over the NEET paper leak issue, spoke to Mahto over the phone on Wednesday and urged him to at least drink water, following which Mahto started taking water.

One of the student leaders, Rahul Kranti, who is also on the indefinite hunger strike, said they had appealed to the administration for a health check-up, but no doctors reached the venue till 8.30 am.

The demonstrators said that one agitator, Brahmanand, who was observing the hunger strike, was not seen at the site on Thursday.

Wangchuk on Thursday made a fresh appeal to the Jharkhand CM to resolve the issue at the earliest.

The protesters said they had been forced to adopt the extreme form of agitation after repeated appeals to the government "failed" to produce any concrete action.

“We have formed an 11-member delegation, comprising eight students, two experts and an advocate, in response to the government’s offer to hold talks in connection with the stir,” said an office bearer of the JPSC-JSSC Reforms Manch.

A five-member government panel, including ministers Dipika Pandey Singh and Sudivya Kumar, is likely to interact with the protesters, an official said.

Ranchi sub-divisional officer Kumar Rajat and ADM (Law & Order) Dhananjay Kumar met the protesting students late on Thursday night.

"We came here to have a conversation with our younger brothers and to see how they are doing," the SDO told reporters.

When asked if any discussion was held with the students' delegation, his reply was "no".

Student leader Ravindra Paswan said, "The SDO assured us that we should be positive, as the government will talk to us. But he has not given any time."

Sabita Kumari, one among the six protesters who have been on the hunger strike, said the government had "ignored" students' concerns and "are snatching our rights and selling our jobs like vegetables".

Another protester, Rahul Kranti, said the biggest damage caused by the alleged irregularities in the recruitment tests is the "loss of trust in the system".

A student leader claimed, "No response from the state government was received till late evening. However, I have talked to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over the phone. He assured all support to resolve the impasse and to take up the issue with the Jharkhand government, of which his party is an ally."

The student leader also asserted that he told the leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha that if the "Congress fails to persuade the Hemant Soren government to fulfil their demands, it should withdraw from the alliance".

The BJP termed the student's interaction with Gandhi as a "political gimmick" and alleged that Congress leader K Raju, who was in the city, did not visit the protest site.

On Thursday, the opposition MLAs held a protest on the assembly premises during the first day of the Monsoon Session, with many of them seen wearing masks displaying a message, 'Jago Sarkar, Hosh Me Aao' (Govt, come out of the slumber).

MLAs of the opposition NDA demanded a CBI probe into the alleged irregularities in the recruitment examinations. They raised slogans against the state government, with BJP chief whip Naveen Jaiswal alleging that the "future of Jharkhand's youths was sold".

Referring to the Delhi protest against the NEET exam paper leak, which ultimately led to Dharmendra Pradhan quitting as Union education minister, the BJP's Koderma MLA Neera Yadav said, "The Congress puts up one mask when the stir is in Delhi and a different one for Jharkhand."

Soren had on Wednesday said the question paper leak issues are a national problem and offered talks to resolve the impasse.

Reacting to BJP's allegations, Jharkhand minister Sudivya Kumar said that the government was serious about the issue raised by the students.

The CID probe into the alleged recruitment scam has intensified. "So far, 19 people have been arrested. Former JPSC chairman L Khiangte has been questioned four times since July 28," an officer said on Wednesday.