Students protesting against alleged irregularities in Jharkhand’s recruitment exams burnt the effigies of chief minister Hemant Soren, leader of opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav in Ranchi on Sunday, comparing them to “the dead”, even as the state government invited them for fresh talks on Monday.
Among the measures outlined by the government are a time-bound annual examination calendar, technology-secured examinations, timely publication of answer keys and OMR sheets, and multi-level accountability in the recruitment process. The Jharkhand government has invited students for fresh rounds of talks on August 17, according to an official quoted by news agency PTI. They accused the ruling alliance of playing politics over their issues and announced they would gherao the chief minister’s residence on August 20, demanding his resignation.
The students accused the JMM-Congress alliance of “failing to take concrete action” on their demands. Students have accepted the invitation and said fresh talks with the government will be held in the presence of their legal advisor. A day earlier, the protesters had demanded that Congress withdraw support from the ruling coalition since the chief minister “was not listening to him”. The protesters said they would not withdraw the demonstration until the government addresses their demands, including the cancellation of examinations in which alleged irregularities were found, and ordering an independent probe into the recruitment process. In his Independence Day address, the chief minister had said questions surrounding recruitment examinations had shaken the trust of an entire generation of job aspirants.
