Jharkhand student protest: LoP Marandi says barricades ‘holding Ranchi hostage’
Leader of Opposition in the Jharkhand Assembly Babulal Marandi on Thursday urged the state government to remove barricades erected on busy Kanke Road in Ranchi as security was tightened around the chief minister’s residence ahead of a possible student protest march.
Marandi said the barricades were causing severe inconvenience to commuters, schoolchildren and vehicles carrying essential services.
The Ranchi administration has stepped up security around the chief minister’s residence ahead of Independence Day and amid the possibility of a march by students protesting alleged irregularities in recruitment examinations.
“In the name of securing the chief minister’s residence, main roads and the extremely busy Kanke Road have been blocked, holding the entire capital’s public life hostage,” Marandi said in a social media post.
Questioning the government’s security arrangements, the BJP leader said there was no justification for what he described as an “unnecessary show of force” against students whose protest was peaceful.
“Why is the government so terrified of students peacefully protesting in Ranchi for their legitimate demands?” he asked.
Marandi said the restrictions had resulted in prolonged traffic jams, leaving common people and schoolchildren stranded and affecting vehicles providing essential services.
He urged the government to immediately remove the barricades, restore normal traffic movement and engage with the protesting students through dialogue.
The students’ agitation over alleged irregularities in Jharkhand recruitment examinations entered its 20th day on Thursday. The protesters have refused to call off the stir until their demands are addressed.
The JPSC-JSSC Reforms Manch has been demonstrating at Jaipal Singh Munda Stadium, demanding greater transparency in recruitment examinations, cancellation of several tests and an independent probe by the CBI or a panel of retired judges from outside Jharkhand.
