Rahul Gandhi assured help to resolve issues for protesters in Ranchi, claims student leader
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi assured those protesting against the alleged irregularities in recruitment exams in Jharkhand of extending all help, a student leader among the demonstrators claimed on Thursday.
The Congress is a constituent of the ruling JMM-led coalition in the state.
Student leader Ravindra Paswan claimed that during a telephonic conversation this evening, Gandhi asked the protesters to send him the details of their demands and assured them of talking to the state government over their 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 Central Bureau of Investigation (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).
Six demonstrators have been on a hunger strike as part of the student-led protest that entered its 13th day on Thursday.
"I had a conversation with Rahul Gandhi. I apprised him of the ground situation here, specifically, how the exam mafia is flourishing. I told him that since his party is part of the ruling coalition, he should clarify the Congress' stand on the matter," Paswan told reporters.
"Rahul Gandhi asked us to send our demands. He said that he has taken the matter seriously and will do whatever lies within his power to help," Paswan added.
The student leader said he appealed to Gandhi that the Congress should remain steadfast on the issue concerning job aspirants.
"If the Congress, as part of the coalition government, fails to persuade the Jharkhand government to fulfil the students' demands, it should withdraw from the alliance on moral grounds," he said.
Reacting to Gandhi's telephonic conversation, BJP spokesperson Pratul Shahdeo alleged that the Congress leader simply "wanted to score brownie points out of it".
"Do they genuinely want a solution? They have a coalition government here with as many as four ministers, but not a single one of them came to the protest site. Their party's in-charge and senior Congress leader K Raju visited the Chief Minister's residence, located just a kilometre away from the protest site, but he did not bother to meet the students."
The agitating students and job aspirants formed an 11-member delegation to hold talks with the government to resolve the impasse.
The protest, which began under the banner of the JPSC-JSSC Reforms Manch, emerged as one of the biggest student-led movements in the state in recent years.
