The sixth round of talks between the Jharkhand government and the student delegation held at the state guest house in Ranchi did not reach a breakthrough, though the dialogue remained positive.
Student leaders, after talks with the government panel, stated that they are not ready for a compromise until a CBI probe is announced, adding that they would take a peaceful march to the Jharkhand Assembly on August 10 against the alleged exam irregularities.
The authorities claimed that they accepted 98 per cent of the students' demands, except for a CBI probe into the JSSC-CGL exam's alleged irregularities, as it was conducted under the monitoring of the High Court and Supreme Court.
"Most of our demands have been met, including the demand for cancellation of the 14th JPSC exam. But we will not compromise till our demand for a CBI probe is fulfilled," said student leader Ravindra Paswan.
Meanwhile, Minister Sudivya Kumar, after talks with the student delegation, informed that a fast-track court will be set up to deal with exam irregularity cases and a charge sheet will be filed within 90 days. He also said that the State government would recommend an ED probe into financial irregularities in JPSC exams.
He also shared that a panel will be formed with experts from IIT, IIM, and XLRI to recommend exam reforms in the State. He added that the government will also set up a panel under a retired HC judge to probe irregularities related to the JSSC-CGL exam.
Notably, all 3 members of Jharkhand PSC quit amid CID summons for interrogation. Sources informed that the Governor has accepted their resignation.
The Jharkhand government began fresh talks on Sunday with aspirants protesting alleged recruitment exam irregularities for the 16th day now, with a prominent student faction terming the Hemant Soren dispensation's move "political manoeuvring".
The decision to hold another round of talks was taken after a series of meetings between the government and student groups on Friday night and throughout Saturday failed to break the deadlock.
The state government on Friday night held discussions with the JPSC-JSSC Reforms Manch, which has been spearheading the agitation.
On Saturday, it held four rounds of talks with different student groups, including the Congress's student wing NSUI, Jharkhand Chhatra Morcha (JCM) and Adivasi Chhatra Sangh (ACS).
However, the meetings remained inconclusive. The protesters have maintained that their agitation will continue until all their demands are fulfilled.
With inputs from PTI
