Jharkhand Govt, students standoff continues over exam irregularities
The standoff between the Jharkhand Government and students protesting alleged irregularities in JPSC and JSSC examinations continued on Saturday, with talks between a high-level ministerial committee and another group of agitating students ending without any breakthrough.
Students staging a prolonged protest at the Jaipal Singh Munda Stadium in Ranchi remained firm on their demands and decided to continue their agitation.
During the meeting with the Government committee, student representatives placed a list of immediate and long-term demands. Their immediate demands included cancellation of the 14th JPSC examination, 2023 and 2025 JPSC examinations, FRO, ACF, Assistant Public Prosecutor and JET 2026 examinations, among others.
The students also demanded that cases related to JPSC and JSSC pending before courts be resolved within three months. They sought transparent and error-free recruitment rules, improvements in the standard operating procedure (SOP) governing examinations and clear accountability of officials and employees involved in the recruitment process.
Meanwhile, the controversy surrounding alleged irregularities in the JPSC Combined Civil Services Preliminary Examination-2025 has reached the Supreme Court. Social activist and political leader Harisharan Devgan has filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking an investigation into JPSC and JSSC examinations.
The petition, however, has not yet been listed for hearing.
The student agitation is also set to intensify, with the JPSC-JSSC Reform Forum announcing a march and gherao of the Jharkhand Assembly in Ranchi on August 10. The organisation has appealed to students from across the state to reach Ranchi in large numbers. In a social media appeal, it urged students to start arriving in Ranchi by bus and train from August 8 and 9, apprehending that students could face restrictions while travelling to the state capital on August 10.
Amid the ongoing agitation, the All-India Students’ Association (AISA) has also set up a separate tent at the stadium. The organisation clarified that the move did not mean it had withdrawn from the broader student movement.
AISA state secretary Triloki Nath said the separate tent was meant to facilitate the organisation’s activities and was not intended to weaken the agitation. He said all student groups shared the core demands of an investigation into alleged irregularities in JPSC-JSSC examinations and protection of students’ interests.
The agitation has also been accompanied by a hunger strike by six protesters, including student leaders Devendra Mahato, Rahul Kranti, Rupesh Kumar, Archana Kumari, Sabita Kumari and Umme Habiba.
Rahul Kranti was admitted to Ranchi Sadar Hospital on Friday after his health deteriorated during the hunger strike. His hospitalisation has also triggered increased political activity, with leaders from various political parties visiting him and enquiring about his health from doctors.
Later in the evening, protesting students took out a march from Jaipal Singh Munda Stadium to Albert Ekka Chowk to mark the martyrdom day of Jharkhand movement leader Nirmal Mahato.
