Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, whose party is a partner in the JMM-led government in Jharkhand, said on Monday evening that use of force against protesting students is wrong.
“Students have a right to peaceful protest, and only dialogue can yield solutions. The Jharkhand government must continue to hear these students out and resolve their issues immediately,” the Leader of Opposition (Lok Sabha) posted on X.
This came as protesters marching to the Jharkhand Vidhan Sabha closed in on the building just after 5:45 pm.
Inside, before the assembly proceedings were concluded for the day, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) minister Sudivya Kumar accused the state’s main opposition BJP of “hijacking” the students’ agitation.
Replying to a question on the students’ protest during Zero Hour in the assembly, the state’s higher and technical education minister said the students had been holding a peaceful and democratic agitation. He cautioned that the BJP’s “anarchist elements” would be responsible for any violence.
“The government made every effort to resolve the students’ issues. The agitating students would have accepted the government’s proposal, but the BJP hijacked the protest and misled them into holding today’s agitation,” Kumar claimed.
He was replying to a question by Nirsa MLA Arup Chatterjee, who sought details on the government’s talks with the protesting students. Chatterjee belongs to the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation, which is also a partner in the Hemant Soren-led government.
Minister Kumar said the agitation stemmed from alleged irregularities in the preliminary test of the 14th JPSC examination. The government ordered a CID probe after receiving indications of irregularities, following which the JPSC chairman resigned and 19 people were arrested, he said. (The former JPSC chairman was also arrested after this statement.)
“Digital and documentary evidence has also been seized, which will assist the investigation,” Kumar said.
He said the government subsequently constituted a high-level committee, on the chief minister’s directive, to engage with the students and address their concerns.
The panel comprised Kumar, Dipika Pandey Singh, Sanjay Prasad Yadav and Chamra Linda.
According to Kumar, the students’ demands broadly covered probes into alleged irregularities, cancellation of examinations and reforms in the functioning of the JPSC and JSSC.
On the probe, Kumar said the CID would continue investigating the alleged criminal conspiracy. He added that the government had voluntarily agreed to an Enforcement Directorate probe after evidence of financial irregularities emerged.
On cancellation of examinations, he said the government had agreed to scrap the 14th JPSC examination and backlog examinations of 2023 and 2025.
The students had also sought cancellation of examinations conducted through outsourcing agency TDPL (TSR Data Processing Pvt Ltd). Kumar, however, said examinations whose results had already been declared and candidates appointed could not be cancelled.
He assured the students that action would be taken if major irregularities were found in examinations conducted by TDPL.
On the demand to cancel the JSSC-CGL examination, Kumar said the government did not have the authority to do so as it was conducted under court monitoring. He said the government had proposed a committee headed by a retired High Court judge to oversee the CID probe into alleged irregularities in the examination, but the students did not accept it.
Kumar also said the government had agreed to reform the standard operating procedures of the JPSC and JSSC by incorporating expert inputs from IIT-ISM Dhanbad, IIM Ranchi and XLRI Jamshedpur.
“The government wanted to resolve the issue and prevent students from taking to the streets,” he said.
Kumar alleged that the BJP had attempted to stall the process for political gains and accused the party of misleading students into joining the August 10 protest.
“It is regrettable that the agitation currently playing out on the streets of Ranchi has shifted from being a students’ movement to one dominated by the BJP’s political designs,” he said. Kumar said he had faith that the students would continue their protest peacefully and democratically. He warned that the government should take strict action against anyone responsible if violence occurs during the agitation.