RANCHI, Aug 16: Student activist Umme Habiba, who has been on an indefinite hunger strike for 12 days over alleged irregularities in Jharkhand recruitment examinations, has refused to call off her protest despite being admitted to Sadar Hospital after her health deteriorated.
Habiba, one of the prominent faces of the ongoing student agitation, has appealed to Chief Minister Hemant Soren and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to intervene and address the demands of protesting students.
She has continued to refuse food even after being shifted to the hospital. According to the account provided by the protesters, Habiba has lost around seven kilograms during the fast.
A resident of Kasmar in Bokaro district, Habiba has appeared in the seventh, 11th and 14th Jharkhand Public Service Commission examinations. She holds a postgraduate degree in English as well as a B.Ed qualification.
Habiba said the students’ movement was not directed against any particular government but was aimed at seeking changes in the system.
“Our fight is not against the government, but against the system,” she said, stressing that reforms in the education and recruitment framework were necessary to ensure that merit was given due recognition.
In an appeal to Soren, Habiba said the chief minister was responsible for addressing the concerns of young people in the state.
She said students had supported the government with the expectation that their concerns would be addressed and urged Soren to listen to those who had been protesting for more than three weeks.
“My body is weakening, but I have not allowed my spirit to falter,” Habiba said, appealing to the chief minister to ensure that the rights of protesting students were protected.
She also questioned Rahul Gandhi over his absence from the protest site and urged him to take responsibility for alleged irregularities in examinations conducted under a government led by an alliance that includes the Congress.
“If you are supporting the agitating students of Jharkhand, why haven’t you come to meet us yet?” she asked, urging Gandhi to visit Ranchi and meet the protesting students.
Habiba also rejected the state government’s claim that 98 per cent of the students’ demands had been fulfilled.
According to her, the government had agreed to cancel the 14th JPSC Preliminary Examination, but several other demands remained unresolved.
She further questioned the proposed investigation by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) into alleged examination-related irregularities and said students were seeking a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe.
“That is why the students here are demanding a CBI inquiry to ensure the system is completely cleansed,” she said.
The student agitation has continued in Ranchi for over three weeks, with protesters demanding corrective measures and greater transparency in the recruitment process.
Habiba maintained that she would continue her hunger strike until the students’ demands were addressed, even as her health condition remained a concern.”CM Soren is just two or three kilometres away; he must come and listen to the demands of students,” she said.
