Ranchi, Aug 12: The standoff between the Jharkhand government and protesting JPSC-JSSC aspirants continued for the 19th day on Wednesday, with three rounds of talks failing to break the deadlock as students remained firm on their demands for cancellation of the JSSC-CGL examination and a CBI probe into alleged recruitment irregularities.
The agitation continued at Jaipal Singh Munda Stadium in Ranchi, where protesters are now considering marching towards Chief Minister Hemant Soren’s Kanke Road residence to seek direct talks with him.
Authorities meanwhile heightened security around the Chief Minister’s residence ahead of Independence Day, deploying multiple layers of barricades and additional armed personnel. Vehicular movement in the high-security zone was restricted, leading to traffic congestion on routes connecting Morabadi, Kutchery Chowk and Kanke Road.
Tensions had risen during the intervening night of Tuesday and Wednesday when Ranchi Deputy Commissioner Manjunath Bhajantri and senior police officers reached the protest venue with a sizeable security contingent.
The deployment triggered apprehension among protesters about a possible eviction from the site, while BJP functionaries rushed to the venue and accused the government of attempting to intimidate the students.
The protesting aspirants have rejected the state government’s proposed CID probe and other investigations and reform measures, maintaining their demand for a CBI investigation. They have also not been persuaded by repeated appeals from the Chief Minister on social media.
Leader of Opposition Babulal Marandi accused the government and administration of attempting to pressure the protesters into ending their agitation.
“The govt and administration on the contrary are now trying to intimidate protesters through various means to end the strike. However, BJP will continue to fight for them,” Marandi said.
Former Chief Minister Raghubar Das also visited the protest site and announced an indefinite dharna at Birsa Munda Samadhi Sthal if the state government fails to hand over the probe to the CBI within a week.
The political confrontation intensified as four Congress ministers — Radha Krishana Kishore, Dipika Pandey Singh, Irfan Ansari and Shilpi Neha Tirkey — accused the BJP of exploiting the students’ movement for political gains and defended the government’s handling of the issue.
Dipika Pandey Singh rejected the BJP’s demand for a CBI probe, saying, “Of the 17 examination-related cases handed over to CBI since 2015, virtually none has yielded any result.”
Kishore claimed the state government had been prepared to discuss the recruitment examination issue in the Assembly on August 10, but alleged that BJP MLAs did not attend the proceedings.
“Other important issues, including the looming drought and farmers’ concerns, were also listed at BJP’s insistence. However, its MLAs stayed away, forcing the House to be adjourned sine die prematurely. This shows how serious BJP is about youths and farmers,” Kishore said.
The political battle also spilled over to the national capital, where Jharkhand BJP MPs staged a protest outside Parliament targeting Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over the handling of the student agitation.
Meanwhile, the investigation into alleged recruitment examination irregularities continued. CID teams conducted raids in Palamu on Wednesday in search of two alleged accused, Santosh Singh and Ravishankar Kumar, but could not trace them.
“CID teams had earlier searched for the duo on Aug 3 as well,” said Jyoti Lal Rajwar, officer-in-charge of Daltonganj police station.
The CID has so far arrested 20 people in connection with alleged irregularities in the 14th JPSC Civil Services Examination.
With the students refusing to relent on the CBI probe and examination cancellation, and the government maintaining its position on alternative investigations and reforms, the dispute shows no immediate signs of resolution.
