Agitating students and job aspirants in Jharkhand on Thursday refused to call off their protest over alleged irregularities in recruitment exams, insisting on their demands for a CBI probe and cancellation of the JPSC and JSSC exams.
RANCHI — Agitating students and job aspirants in Jharkhand on Thursday refused to call off their protest over alleged irregularities in recruitment exams, insisting on their demands for a CBI probe and cancellation of the JPSC and JSSC exams.
Hundreds of students, job aspirants and youths gathered at the Jaipal Singh Munda Stadium on the 20th day of the agitation, saying they would continue the protest until their demands are met.
Vivek Pandit, a student and JPSC aspirant from Bokaro district, said he had been at the protest site since the first day and would remain there until the state government agreed to their demands.
"Today is the 20th day that I have been here. On August 10, when police lathi-charged us during a protest march to the Assembly, my mother was crying and urging me to return home. She was scared after the assault on us during the march. But now, we have decided not to step back from our demands," Pandit said.
"There is no transparency in both agencies, and the government's attitude regarding these issues is not what it should be. They are using their power to divide students rather than resolving the issues," he said.
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Pandit alleged that senior district officials had visited the protest site on Tuesday night and tried to create a division among the protesters by asking those demanding action on JPSC-related issues to return home following the government's announcement to cancel the exam.
Another protester, Ravi Kumar from Lohardaga district, said he had been at the protest site since July 29, when the agitation began.
"I cracked multiple exams conducted by both the agencies, but due to prevailing corruption, partiality and irregularities in the system, we have suffered. We will not stop until the government agrees to bring reforms, order a CBI probe and cancel the Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission (JSSC)-CGL exam," he said.
Vani Kumari, a software engineer working with a private company in Ranchi, said she had been participating in the protest for more than a week.
She visits the protest site every evening and stays there through the night.
"I have been preparing for state civil service examinations. I appeared in the 14th JPSC exam, held on April 19, but due to large-scale irregularities, we have been cheated badly. In Jharkhand, not a single exam has been conducted fairly for several years," she alleged.
"This agitation is the outcome of accumulated anger and frustration over several years, as our hopes and dreams have been fading," Kumari said.
Soni Kumari from Gumla district said she had been preparing for JPSC exam and had appeared in the JPSC-backlog 2025 and the 14th Preliminary Examination.
"I have been here for over a week and will remain until the government meets our demands. The government says Jharkhand is young, having completed 25 years since its creation. If they accept the state is young, why are they not agreeing with the demands of the young generation? This shows a difference between what they say and what they are doing," she said.
She said a panel comprising four state ministers had held several rounds of talks with their delegation.
"The panel led by four government ministers held multiple rounds of talks with our delegation, and we communicated our demands for a CBI probe and cancellation of the JSSC exams. But they are not agreeing on these two concerns, so we have also continued our protest," she said.
Another student, Neha, said the protesters had been raising their concerns for the past 20 days and demanding a CBI probe into the alleged irregularities and cancellation of the JSSC-CGL exam.
"We are unable to understand why this government is not listening to our genuine demands. We are not fighting only for ourselves but also for future generations. This fight will go on if the government does not bow to our demands," she said.
She also criticised the lathicharge during the August 10 march to the Assembly and alleged that government officials had been visiting the protest site in an attempt to divide the protesters over their demands.