Ranchi, Aug 18: Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday welcomed the Jharkhand government’s decision to cancel the JSSC-CGL examination and other recruitment tests conducted by private agency TDPL, saying dialogue with protesting students was the appropriate way to resolve the issue.
The state government’s decision came on Monday amid a prolonged agitation by aspirants who had raised allegations of irregularities in recruitment examinations conducted by the Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission (JSSC).Following the announcement, student leader Devendra Nath Mahto ended his 16-day hunger strike. Protesters, however, have indicated that they want further action on allegations concerning other recruitment examinations.
Gandhi, in a post on X, said the agreement between the students and the state government and the subsequent end of the hunger strike was a welcome development. He praised Chief Minister Hemant Soren and the state government for choosing dialogue to address the students’ concerns.
He said students raising questions about examinations should receive answers and reiterated the Congress’ support for students seeking transparency and fair competition.
Earlier, Gandhi had written to Soren urging him to intervene in the agitation and personally engage with representatives of the protesting students. He also referred to peaceful protest as an important constitutional right and raised broader concerns over alleged irregularities in the education system.Mahto, meanwhile, said the decision followed discussions involving state ministers and legislators and thanked the Jharkhand government, the chief minister and Gandhi for their intervention.
The cancellation of the examinations marks a significant development in the ongoing dispute between recruitment aspirants and the state authorities. The protesters’ demand for a transparent examination process and investigation into alleged irregularities is expected to remain a key issue in the coming days.
