Jharkhand’s 26-day-long JPSC-JSSC student agitation has been called off, following the state government’s decision to cancel several recruitment examinations and order investigations into alleged irregularities. However, the decision has triggered protests by candidates already appointed through the cancelled examinations.
The protesting students have ended their agitation after the state government issued notifications cancelling 22 examinations and ordering investigations into irregularities in 45 examinations, including JPSC Civil Services and JSSC-CGL. The students have given the government 60 days to conduct the investigations, warning that they will resume their agitation if the probe is found to be unfair or inadequate. The students also took out an ‘Aabhaar Yatra’ from Jaipal Singh Munda Stadium to Albert Ekka Chowk in Ranchi this evening, with prominent protest leader Devendra Nath Mahato joining the march after observing a 16-day hunger strike.
Meanwhile, the government’s decision has affected the appointments of 2,628 candidates, prompting selected JSSC-CGL employees to stage protests outside the Jharkhand Secretariat and Project Bhawan, raising concerns over their jobs and future. The protesting employees said they had cleared the examination through the prescribed process and argued that if irregularities occurred, action should be taken against those responsible rather than cancelling the careers of candidates who were selected and appointed. The protests intensified as some candidates reportedly breached barricades and entered the Project Building premises, following which security arrangements were strengthened.
Leader of Opposition Babulal Marandi has questioned the impartiality of the investigation and reiterated his demand for a CBI probe into alleged irregularities in the JPSC-JSSC examinations. While the students have temporarily ended their agitation and will monitor the investigations over the next 60 days, the protests by affected employees and the demand for an independent CBI probe indicate that the controversy over Jharkhand’s recruitment examinations is far from over.
