Guwahati: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday extended support to students protesting in Jharkhand over alleged irregularities in government recruitment examinations. He accused the ruling JMM-Congress-RJD alliance of failing to address the students’ grievances in a transparent and timely manner.
In a post on social media platform X, CM Sarma said he had closely witnessed the concerns of JSSC-CGL aspirants during the Jharkhand Assembly election campaign and believed their demands deserved a fair and impartial hearing.
“During the Jharkhand Assembly elections, I had the opportunity to closely witness the pain, anger and concerns of JSSC-CGL aspirants regarding the recruitment process,” he wrote.
The Assam Chief Minister said the current unrest could have been avoided if the Jharkhand government had acted promptly on the complaints raised by candidates. According to him, a transparent and sensitive response from the state administration would have helped restore the confidence of recruitment aspirants.
CM Sarma also alleged that repeated claims of examination irregularities and question paper leaks had pushed the future of lakhs of young job seekers into uncertainty.
“Unfortunately, allegations of irregularities and paper leaks have continued to mount, and today the future of lakhs of youth is in crisis,” he stated.
Expressing what he described as his “moral support” for the students’ movement, Sarma urged the Jharkhand government to accept the students’ legitimate demands and ensure justice.
“I express my moral support for this just movement of Jharkhand’s students and youth and urge the state government to immediately accept the legitimate demands of the students and deliver justice to them. Injustice with the future of the youth cannot be acceptable at any cost,” he added.
His remarks come as protests continue in Ranchi, where students have been demonstrating against alleged irregularities in examinations conducted by the Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC) and the Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission (JSSC).
The protesters have demanded the cancellation of the 14th JPSC Combined Preliminary Examination, held on April 19, and have sought an independent investigation by central agencies, including the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED), into the alleged irregularities in Jharkhand’s recruitment process.
With inputs from IANS