Congress, JMM protesting MMDR Act to divert people’s attention from students’ movement, says Jharkhand BJP

Jharkhand BJP chief Aditya Sahu on Tuesday alleged that the Congress and the JMM were protesting against the MMDR Act to divert people’s attention from the students’ movement against alleged irregularities in recruitment examinations in the State.

He said that the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Act, 2026, is in the State’s interest.

“The Congress and the JMM are engaged in political posturing over MMDR and misleading the public to divert attention from the students’ movement. The MMDR Act is in the State’s interest,” Sahu said in a statement.

He said the Act will help curb illegal mining.

“Both the ruling parties should not be under the illusion that their protest against MMDR would make the students’ issues disappear (from the public eye).

“The students’ protest would continue till their demand for a CBI inquiry into irregularities in recruitment exams is met. The Congress-JMM’s protest (against MMDR) is not for protecting mineral resources but to shield the masterminds behind the recruitment examination scams,” Sahu alleged.

Parliament in August passed the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026, which seeks to restrict states’ powers to levy taxes on mineral rights and mineral-bearing lands.

Questioning the CID probe into the alleged examination irregularities, Sahu alleged that the government’s actions regarding the investigation were failing to progress beyond newspaper headlines.

“Students and job aspirants across the state are consistently raising questions regarding transparency in recruitment exams, timely appointments, and their own future. But the State Government is evading these fundamental issues. This is an attempt by the ruling dispensation to divert the course of the student movement,” he said.

The BJP stood by the students in their struggle for justice and will continue to stand firmly in the future as well, he added.

Reacting to Sahu’s statement, JMM central general secretary Vinod Kumar Pandey accused the BJP of indulging in politics over students’ issues.

“The concerns raised by the JMM and the Congress regarding the MMDR are not politically motivated. They represent a fight for the state’s constitutional rights over its water, forests, land, and mineral resources,” he said.

Pandey said the BJP does not have the right to decide on issues the ruling parties will raise.

Meanwhile, former Jharkhand chief minister Champai Soren questioned the JMM-led government’s intention in opposing the MMDR Act.

“No Congress MP had raised any objection to this Bill in Parliament, so why is this happening in Jharkhand? When the central government tried to curb this illegal business through the MMDR Amendment Act, these people started misleading innocent tribals and natives by portraying it as an attack on Jharkhand’s rights,” he said in a social media post.

Soren said the prices of coal and iron ore were significantly higher in Jharkhand compared to the neighbouring states due to the imposition of “arbitrary cess” on the minerals by the state government.

He said a tonne of thermal coal (G11) costs Rs 1,741 in West Bengal and Rs 1,708 in Odisha, while its price in Jharkhand was Rs 2,458.

“In such a situation, any customer would prefer to buy coal from the neighbouring states instead of Jharkhand… They would easily save Rs 700-750 per tonne. When all companies engaged in coal mining have uniform prices, the real difference lies in taxes and cess,” he said.

If the state government needs revenue, it can earn thousands of crores of rupees by opening new mines like Odisha does, through royalty or auction premiums. The central government has already granted clearance for many such mines, but the state has held them back, Soren added.

Students and job aspirants staged an agitation in Ranchi from July 25 to protest against the alleged irregularities in recruitment examinations.

Following the protest, the Jharkhand government on August 18 announced the cancellation of a host of recruitment tests, including the JSSC-CGL-2023 conducted on September 21 and 22, 2024. Thereafter, the protesting students withdrew the agitation.

However, the Jharkhand High Court put a stay on the government’s decision to cancel certain exams, including the JSSC-CGL-2023, based on a plea by successful candidates who feared job loss.

Student leader Devendra Nath Mahto-led JPSC-JSSC Abhyarthi Nyay Manch on August 24 launched its statewide campaign from Ramgarh district, seeking reforms in recruitment examinations.

The campaign -- ‘Bharti Sudhar Yatra’ (recruitment reform march) -- will cover all 24 districts of the state, raising demands to check recruitment scams, take action against the corrupt, crack down on the paper leak mafia and ensure justice for youths. The march reached Dhanbad on Tuesday.