Ranchi- Students protesting alleged irregularities in JPSC and JSSC recruitment examinations said on Saturday that the Jharkhand government had listened to their concerns and appeared serious about addressing them, but made it clear that their agitation would continue until concrete action was taken.
The statement came after the second round of talks between the JMM-led state government and representatives of the JPSC-JSSC Aspirant Nyay Manch. The student delegation said it placed all its demands, along with supporting facts and evidence, before the government.
Amit, one of the delegation members, said the students had explained the difficulties and hardships faced by aspirants across Jharkhand.
“We have conveyed every aspect of the pain and suffering of the students of Jharkhand to the government,” he told IANS.
Among the demands raised during the meeting was compensation of Rs 1 crore for the families of aspirants who died during the physical efficiency test, or running trials, for the Jharkhand Excise Constable recruitment drive in 2024.
Amit said the students would not call off their agitation until a concrete solution was reached.
“We will continue the agitation till a concrete conclusion is reached,” he said, adding that the government should be viewed as a guardian since it was elected by the people. He said the government had assured the delegation that its demands would be considered, and the students were hopeful of a positive outcome.
Another delegation member, Chandan, described the meeting as positive and said the students had presented their demands with facts and evidence.
“Our colleagues had already informed us about all the issues and provided the necessary facts, and we have put every point before the government in detail,” Chandan said.
According to him, the government took note of the concerns and indicated that the matter would be discussed with Chief Minister Hemant Soren soon, following which action would be taken at the earliest.
However, Chandan reiterated that the protest would continue until the demands were fulfilled. He also said students who are currently on hunger strike would continue their fast.
“We want the government to clarify by when our demands will be met,” he said.
One of the key demands is the cancellation of examinations conducted by TDPL whose results have not yet been declared. The students have also urged the government to entrust future examinations to a reputed agency such as Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) or have the commissions conduct the examinations themselves.
Chandan said the government should not put students’ careers at risk by handing examination responsibilities to companies that have faced blacklisting.
Ravishankar, another member of the eight-member delegation, said the government gave them sufficient time to present their concerns and carefully recorded the points raised during the meeting.
He said the students were seeking cancellation of the examinations conducted by TDPL, along with expedited reappointments of affected candidates.
The delegation also demanded a CBI investigation into the JSSC CGL examination. Ravishankar said that if the probe establishes irregularities, the examination should be cancelled immediately.
He also reiterated the demand for compensation for the aspirants who died during the physical tests for the Jharkhand Excise Constable recruitment.
Ravishankar said the government had taken the students’ demands seriously.
Dinabandhu Mandal, another member of the delegation, said the students had also demanded that vacancies arising from any cancelled examinations should be filled within six months and that merit lists should be published without unnecessary delay.
“From whatever discussion we had, it is understood that the government has seriously considered our demands and hopefully it will take action on them. But till then, our protest will continue,” Mandal said.
The students’ statement came after the second round of talks with the government ended without a final settlement. With the protesters insisting on concrete action before withdrawing their agitation, the deadlock over the JPSC-JSSC examination issue remains unresolved.
With inputs from IANS