New Delhi/Ranchi, Aug 11: The Congress is facing a political tightrope in Jharkhand, with its top leaders backing protesting students and condemning police action even as the party remains an alliance partner in the Hemant Soren government with four ministers.
Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and Overseas Congress chairman Sam Pitroda have voiced support for the students protesting over alleged irregularities in recruitment examinations and criticised the use of force against them.
“The answer to the frustration of our young people cannot be lathis, tear gas and water cannons. Students are not the enemy. They are India’s future. I stand in solidarity with the youth of Jharkhand,” Pitroda said in a post on X.
Gandhi also said students have a right to peaceful protest and called for dialogue to resolve their grievances.
“Students have a right to peaceful protest, and only dialogue can yield solutions,” he said.
He later reiterated the party’s position, saying, “We condemn any violence against peacefully protesting students. It does not matter where it is happening; we are against it and we do not support it.”
The Congress, however, is not in the Opposition in Jharkhand. It is part of the ruling alliance headed by Chief Minister Soren and has four ministers in the state cabinet — Radha Krishna Kishore, Irfan Ansari, Deepika Pandey Singh and Shilpi Neha Tirkey.
The contrasting positions have triggered questions over how the Congress can oppose the handling of the protests while remaining part of the government.
Jharkhand Congress in-charge K. Raju rejected any suggestion of a contradiction, saying the party was working within the alliance to address the students’ concerns.
“There is no incongruity in this situation. We are doing our best to get our demands sorted,” Raju said, adding that a committee had been formed and a minister was involved in the process.
“As an alliance partner, we have been doing it. We are standing with the students, we are closely monitoring the situation and trying to deal with these pending issues. We met the CM as well and he is also against violence. We are all on the same page,” he said.
Raju said the party’s support for the students was not a challenge to the alliance government but reflected its political and ideological position.
“We are in no way in contradiction. We are setting a standard… We are echoing our ideological commitment,” he said.
Congress has also highlighted its engagement with protesters on the ground. Ranchi district Congress president Kumar Raja said party leaders had continued to meet demonstrators and provide them food supplies despite the protesters targeting the government.
“This is the beauty of democracy. The people who are protesting against us, we are getting them food supplies, we meet the protesters, we speak to them,” Raja said.
The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), Congress’ alliance partner, has also played down reports of differences between the two parties.
JMM Rajya Sabha MP Mahua Maji said the alliance remained united and maintained that Soren shared the Congress’ position against violence.
“Everything is okay in the alliance, no one is upset with anyone,” Maji said.
She claimed the government had allowed the protests to continue for a considerable period and that “98 percent” of the students’ demands had been met.
“The delegation which was sent was Congress, JMM and RJD. Alliance is all right. They are both on the same page,” Maji said.
Maji also alleged that some “unruly elements” who were not students were attempting to take over the agitation.
Political analyst and Congress expert Rasheed Kidwai, however, described the episode as a familiar political balancing act.
“Political parties, all political parties, are a bundle of contradictions. They have different yardsticks when they are in power and when they are out of power,” Kidwai said.
He argued that Congress was doing what was politically necessary without taking the extreme step of withdrawing support from the government.
“Congress is doing the minimum that is required, saying ‘I condemn it’, sending a delegation and making noises,” he said.
Kidwai also said withdrawing support could create an opportunity for the BJP by potentially pushing Soren closer to the NDA.
“Politics does not exist in a vacuum. Rahul Gandhi will not burn bridges with JMM and hand it over to the BJP,” he said.
For the Congress, the Jharkhand student agitation therefore presents a delicate political calculation: support the students and oppose the use of force while continuing to work from within the government whose handling of the protests has drawn criticism.
For now, both Congress and JMM maintain that the two positions can coexist and that the alliance remains intact.
