Amid agitation over the alleged paper leaks in Jharkhand, the State government held talks with several protesting outfits on Saturday. However, it failed to reach a consensus, with the aspirants stating that they would continue to protest until 'all' their demands are met.
The government panel, comprising three ministers, met the faction of protesters led by JLKM leader Devendra Nath Mahto, whose fast over the issue entered its seventh day.
They then met delegations of the Congress-backed NSUI, ACS and JCM.
On Friday night, the government had held similar talks with a 10-member delegation of the JPSC/JSSC Reforms Manch.
"Demands of protesting aspirants are genuine; we will place these before Chief Minister Hemant Soren," state minister Sanjay Prasad Yadav, who is a member of the panel set up by the government, said after the back-to-back meetings.
The ruling JMM's students' wing Jharkhand Chhatra Morcha (JCM) placed five demands before the government panel, including the cancellation of the 14th Jharkhand PSC Civil Services Examination.
The NSUI placed six demands before the government, including a CID probe into all JPSC and JSSC examinations under doubt within 90 days and the setting up of Jharkhand Testing Agency (JTA) on the lines of the National Testing Agency, its spokesperson Sanjiv Shah said.
The government panel's first meeting was with Mahto's grouping, JPSC JSSC Candidates' Forum, and it lasted around two hours.
"The government assured us of a quick decision to resolve the issues raised by us. However, our protests will continue until all our demands, including cancellation of the 14th JPSC exam, are met," a leader of the forum said.
State minister Dipika Pandey Singh said the talks were held in a positive atmosphere and recruitment discrepancies explained by students will be resolved soon.
Higher and Technical Education Minister Sudivya Kumar said the government has issued an email ID, jpsc.jssc.feedback@gmail.com, seeking suggestions from aspirants on reforming the recruitment processes.
The government undertook the parleys as the protest over the paper leaks entered its 15th day. "We have been demanding immediate cancellation of the 14th Jharkhand PSC Civil Services Examination, and all exams conducted by that agency," Mahto said.
He said since the students have been protesting peacefully for over two weeks, the state government should fulfil their demands immediately.
"They should not procrastinate on it. How the government responds to the demands will be interesting to see. If the government had fulfilled the demands on Friday after the talks they held with the 10-member delegation of students, there would be no need for the meeting today, because our demands are almost the same," Mahto said.
"My health condition is deteriorating day by day. Blood pressure and sugar levels are dropping. The doctor informed me about a chest infection and advised hospital admission. If these conditions continue, it will be dangerous for me. I am only able to listen, think, and speak slowly," he added.
The protesters are seeking an independent probe into the alleged irregularities, either by the CBI or by a panel of retired high court judges from outside the State.
So far, 19 people have been arrested in connection with irregularities in the JPSC exams, while the agency's former chairman, L Khiangte, has been questioned four times since July 28.
Meanwhile, members of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) scuffled with the police during their attempt to break through barricades near the Jharkhand chief minister's residence, leading to the detention of 8-10 agitators, an official said.
The incident took place during the ABVP's Jharkhand unit's march towards the CM's residence to express solidarity with students protesting alleged irregularities in recruitment exams.
The march commenced at Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee University.
Among those detained were ABVP office-bearers Pradeep Shekhawat, Pashupatinath Upmanyu and Prakash Tuti. "They have been stopped near Sidho Kanho Park to avoid any untoward situation," Deputy Superintendent of Police (Headquarters) Ajay Aryan said.
A detained ABVP member said police were "hell-bent to suppress students' voice". "We have no problem with the police; our fight is with the government and its policies. For over two weeks, students and job aspirants have been holding protests at the Jaipal Singh Munda Stadium here. They are demanding the cancellation of the 14th JPSC examination, but the state government is not considering their demands. We organised the march to show solidarity with the agitators," an ABVP leader said.
The ABVP members raised slogans demanding the resignation of Chief Minister Hemant Soren and cancellation of the 14th JPSC examinations.
With inputs from PTI