The agitation by students and job aspirants over alleged irregularities in Jharkhand recruitment examinations entered its 18th day on Tuesday, with the BJP observing a statewide bandh and the ABVP planning a march to the state Assembly.
The BJP called the bandh from 8 am to midnight in protest against police action against demonstrators during their march to the Vidhan Sabha on Monday. The ABVP said it would take out a ‘Vidhan Sabha March’ from the old Assembly premises to the new complex.
110 ABVP members were detained on Tuesday during their march to the Jharkhand Assembly to protest against police action against students agitating over alleged irregularities in recruitment examinations in the state, police said.
The detention was made as the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) members started their procession from the old Vidhan Sabha area in Ranchi, an officer said.
Meanwhile, clashes broke out between ABVP workers and police as protesters refused to allow the bus carrying the detained workers to move.
Some women protesters were also detained by police during the march. Two students, including a girl, fainted during the protest. Security officials carried the girl to a nearby sheltered area, where fellow protesters offered her water.
The ABVP demanded answers from the government over alleged police atrocities against students.
Kumar Divyanshu, an ABVP worker, said the government was trying to suppress the voice of the youth and students.
"The goons of CM Hemant Soren have detained us as we were moving towards the Assembly," he said.
Tushar, another worker, who sat in front of the bus carrying the detained workers, alleged that they were being detained without any rhyme or reason and demanded that they be allowed to march peacefully.
Several workers were seen lying on the road in front of the police vehicle, while some climbed atop it.
"The government should remember that they can't suppress the voice of lakhs of students.
We have been raising demands for CBI probes into the alleged exam irregularities.
We are raising our voices for them," another protester said.
Priti Kumari from Chatra district, who came to Ranchi to take part in the ABVP's march to the Assembly, said, "We want to ask the government why the exam papers are being leaked? We demand a CBI probe.
We study day and night so that we can get a job, but the papers keep getting leaked; we are beaten. What kind of justice is this?"
The students, protesting since July 25, are demanding transparency in recruitment examinations, reforms in the Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC) and Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission (JSSC), cancellation of certain examinations and an independent probe by the CBI or a panel of retired high court judges from outside the state.
Six protesters are also on an indefinite hunger strike, with two of them hospitalised.
The sixth round of talks between the Jharkhand government and the protesting students under the JPSC-JSSC Manch failed to yield a breakthrough on Sunday, with both sides accusing each other of lacking seriousness in resolving the issue.
The government panel said it was unfortunate that the students continued their agitation despite the authorities conceding to “98 per cent of their demands”. The protesters rejected the claim and maintained their demands.
The agitation intensified on Monday as police used water cannons, tear gas and lathi-charge to stop protesters from marching towards the Assembly. Several demonstrators claimed they were injured, while Ranchi police said 14 personnel sustained injuries.
The Enforcement Directorate has also launched a money laundering probe into alleged “anomalies” in the recruitment process. Meanwhile, the Jharkhand CID arrested former JPSC chairperson L Khiangte in connection with the alleged irregularities, taking the number of arrests in the case to 20.
Chief Minister Hemant Soren appealed to the protesting students to resolve their grievances through “dialogue and trust”, while accusing the BJP of trying to mislead the agitators for political gains.
The BJP had gheraoed Soren’s residence before the Assembly march and called Tuesday’s bandh to protest against the “use of force” against the students.
Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi condemned the police action, saying peaceful protests should not be met with violence. His remarks drew a sharp response from the BJP, which accused him of double standards as the Congress is part of the JMM-led ruling alliance in Jharkhand. Union minister J P Nadda alleged that Gandhi was an integral part of the state government and questioned whether he could hear the students' voices.
The state government said it had agreed to cancel the 14th JPSC examination and the backlog examinations of 2023 and 2025. Higher and Technical Education Minister Sudivya Kumar said the government had also voluntarily agreed to an ED probe after evidence of financial irregularities emerged.
On the JSSC-CGL examination, Kumar said the government could not order its cancellation as it was conducted under court monitoring. The government has proposed a committee headed by a retired high court judge to oversee the CID probe, but the protesters rejected the proposal.
Kumar said reforms to the JPSC and JSSC standard operating procedures had also been proposed, with inputs from IIT-ISM Dhanbad, IIM-Ranchi and XLRI Jamshedpur
(With inputs from PTI)