On Saturday, students in Jharkhand staged a protest, taking part in a ‘Tiranga Yatra’ to mark India’s 80th Independence Day. The demonstration was sparked by allegations of irregularities in the recruitment examinations conducted in the state. Protesters announced plans to gherao Chief Minister Hemant Soren’s residence on August 20, calling for his resignation over the ongoing issues surrounding the recruitment process.
We seek his resignation as both the JMM and the Congress are playing politics with us. The protesters also said that they would burn effigies of the chief minister and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi across all 24 districts on Sunday, and accused the ruling JMM-Congress alliance of failing to take concrete action on their demands. “We will gherao the chief minister’s residence on August 20.
We also demand that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi withdraw support from the JMM-led coalition if the CM is not listening to him,” JPSC-JSSC Reforms Manch leader Ravindra Paswan said. The protesters said they would not withdraw the demonstration until the government addresses their demands, including cancellation of examinations in which alleged irregularities were found, and an independent probe into the recruitment process. “We demanded Chief Minister Hemant Soren’s resignation as the government fails to cancel JSSC-CGL and the JPSC examinations in which irregularities were found,” the student leader said. “Independence doesn’t just mean freedom from the British, but also freedom from inequality of opportunities, corruption and injustice,” the JPSC-JSSC Reforms Manch said, urging young people to raise their voices peacefully for their rights. Former Jharkhand chief minister and BJP MLA Champai Soren accused the Hemant Soren government of running a “despotic government” and questioned its reluctance to recommend a CBI probe into the allegations.
