India
oi-Madhuri Adnal
The Jharkhand government has invited job aspirants protesting alleged irregularities in state recruitment examinations for another round of talks on Monday, officials said on Sunday.
The development came a day after the JPSC-JSSC Reforms Manch, which is spearheading the agitation, announced plans to gherao Chief Minister Hemant Soren’s residence on August 20 and demand his resignation.
The Jharkhand government invited job aspirants protesting alleged JSSC-CGL exam irregularities for talks on August 17, amid demands for a CBI probe and exam cancellation, following effigy burnings and a protest incident in Ranchi.
“We will definitely attend the talks as we want to resolve the issue through dialogue. However, we remain firm on two demands – a CBI probe into alleged irregularities in recruitment examinations and cancellation of the JSSC-CGL (Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission-Combined Graduate Level) examination,” Manch leader Ravindra Paswan said.
The invitation for the seventh round of talks followed a meeting between protesting students and the sub-divisional officer and additional district magistrate (law and order) at the protest site in Ranchi’s Jaipal Singh Munda Stadium.
In a statement, the Ranchi district administration said the students had been invited for discussions at 2 pm on August 17. They were also given the option of attending the meeting with their legal advisers.
Protesters Burn Effigies of Leaders
Meanwhile, on the 23rd day of the agitation, protesting students on Sunday burnt effigies of Chief Minister Hemant Soren, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav at Ranchi’s Albert Ekka Chowk. The protesters alleged that their “demands continue to fall on deaf ears”.
The protesters also expressed anger over what they described as “administrative misconduct” against fasting student leader Devendra Nath Mahto on August 15. They alleged that police physically prevented Mahto from leaving Sadar Hospital to participate in an Independence Day Tiranga Yatra.
The incident triggered widespread outrage and prompted four more people to join the indefinite hunger strike.
Defending the action against Mahto, Ranchi Deputy Commissioner Manju Nath Bhajantri said the hospital administration had denied him permission to leave because of his critical health condition and physical weakness.
Meanwhile, state Congress media in-charge Rakesh Sinha said the party’s state unit would hold a meeting on August 18 to discuss reforms in the recruitment examinations and would “strongly raise the students’ voice”.
